Sunderland star striker is once again being linked with a move away from the Stadium of Light.

There is fresh speculation on Merseyside today linking Liverpool with a possible move for Philips after the departure of Robbie Fowler to Leeds last week.

Liverpool are in the market for a replacement for Fowler and are understood to be targeting Philips as well as a whole host of attacking talent, which includes the likes of Dwight Yorke. The Treble winners from last year want a natural goalscoring talent, similar to Fowler, and Philips would provide just that.

Obviously Sunderland would be reluctant to sell, but Philips has made it clear to the Sunderland board they must match his ambition or he’ll leave. This could be the reason why the Black Cats’ are on the verge of completing the signing of American captain Claudio Reyna. Losing Philips would be a disaster for the club, but surely the signing of Reyna alone is unlikely to please the England man.

With Liverpool sniffing around Philips, expect his future to be sorted out soon. If Liverpool are interested, Philips will surely want to talk to them. The move would be an excellent one for him, but he still would find it difficult to leave the Stadium of Light. Philips owes a huge debt to manager Peter Reid for giving him his big chance, and leaving Sunderland right now, would leave the boss with a big problem. Philips is well prepared to commit his future to Sunderland, as long as the club is successful. Philips wants to win things and he has to be satisfied he can do this at Sunderland.

Blackburn and Aston Villa are also monitoring the situation.