Liverpool opinion: Liverpool need to keep hold of James Milner beyond 2020
Liverpool have had one of their best seasons ever and could end the season with two trophies.
It won’t be easy, however, as Manchester City lead the Premier League by one point and we face Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals.
There have been several players performing at their best in the campaign too. Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Fabinho have consistently been great for us, and the old workhorse, James Milner has done a brilliant job too.
The 33-year-old has even been deployed on both sides of the defence this season, and he barely puts up a poor performance these days.
Age will be catching up to Milner when his contract ends in 2020 (h/t Liverpool Echo), but despite him ageing, the Reds need to keep hold of their versatile talisman.
Milner is the level-headed player every club needs
Milner isn’t flashy on the pitch or off it, but always gets the job done. The 33-year-old has covered for both our full-backs this season and even spent an entire campaign as the left-back prior to Andy Robertson’s arrival.
Milner has played 39 games for Liverpool this season and 12 of these have been sub appearances.
The Englishman has done extremely well in certain games this season, and his experience is a bonus for the rest of the squad.
Liverpool’s current team features a nice mixture of young players and experienced campaigners. However, Milner’s experience of winning trophies at Manchester City will come good sooner or later.
Apart from that, the Englishman is a leader on the pitch, and he showed that in the 2-0 win over Cardiff City.
Mohamed Salah won a penalty but Milner took the ball away from the Egyptian to smack home our second goal.
This ensured that Cardiff were left with a massive task of getting two goals, and importantly, Milner was the designated penalty taker in the side.
The 33-year-old is a no-nonsense Englishman and we need some of them for the Premier League games.
Milner would know that starting every game is impossible at the age of 35, but Liverpool need to keep him in the team.
Read more Liverpool news, click here – Latest Liverpool news
He could also be an excellent addition to the coaching staff in a few years, but for now, the former Leeds lad should have a role to play as we look to end the season with a bang.
