Liverpool great John Barnes can understand Nat Phillips considering a move away.
The defender is being linked with Newcastle United and Burnley.
"First of all he's done a fantastic job for the club, but once Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip return from injury then he's not going to get into the side ahead of them," Barnes told BettingOdds.com.
"So it's not a question of whether he's deserving of a place, it's a question of if he wants it.
"Of course at his age now he will want to be playing regularly and I have so much admiration for players who want to play, even if that entails taking a step down. What's the point of staying at a club if you're not going to play? He's 24 years old.
"His stock has gone up and if you're saying that he's available for £10 million, then you'd have thought that nobody would have been thinking of Nat Phillips as a £10 million player six months ago.
"It's all down to whether Nat feels happy at Liverpool and if he feels happy being part of a squad where he plays every now and again, or whether he wants to play regularly.
"From my perspective, I'd always choose to play every week and play regularly and if he chooses to follow the same path then I'd have nothing but respect for him."
