Jurgen Klopp confirms Liverpool defender and reported Brighton target can leave

Albion have been linked with a move to sign the 24-year-old central defender ever since the club sold Ben White to Arsenal last summer for £50 million.

The centre-back spot had been a position the club was well stocked in due to having Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, Shane Duffy, Dan Burn and Joel Veltman in the squad.

However, injuries to Webster and Dunk have seen Graham Potter's options start to thin this season and he could be on the lookout for reinforcements in the transfer window.

Nat Philips could move away from Liverpool in the January transfer window

Phillips has impressed for the Merseyside club when called upon and has forged a decent reputation as a Premier League level defender.

His spot at the Reds is firmly on the bench as he is behind Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate in the pecking order.

Klopp, who still rates Phillips highly has admitted the defender could be on the move once the transfer window reopens.

In his press conference, Klopp said: "I’m very happy that Nat is here, to be honest, but we will not block anything I think.

"It’s not the plan at all but who knows what happens until January."

• READ MORE: Lewis Dunk given time frame for return from injury

The defender broke his cheekbone in Liverpool's Champions League match against AC Milan but the German manager does not expect that to affect any potential transfer.

He said: "It’s not the luckiest moment for this but by the end of January he will be completely fine, definitely. Probably in the middle of January, I don’t know exactly.

"We will see everything will be completely fine. It’s not complicated, it’s just not cool.

"We will see what it does mean exactly but in the long term it’s no problem because everything will be fine for Nat, definitely."