Liverpool have announced the arrival of James Milner, subject to a medical, in effect from July 1.
The 29-year-old joins on a free transfer, and will earn in the region of £150,000-a-week at Anfield after he declined the chance to sign a new-and-improved contract with Manchester City.
Set for an important role in the upcoming season, Milner has been brought in as part of a midfield re-shuffle that has seen club legend Steven Gerrard move to LA Galaxy, as well as doubts cast over the roles of Lucas Leiva and youngster Raheem Sterling.
This, coupled with the recent loss of influential senior players such as Jamie Carragher, Luis Suárez, and Daniel Agger as well as Gerrard, has raised concerns about the level the club is operating at both on and off the field.
Starting out his career at Leeds United, Milner was quickly touted as “the future of Leeds”, during a spell that saw him become, at the time, the youngest ever Premier League goalscorer and second-youngest Premier League player in history.
However, shortly into his career at Elland Road, his hometown club began to fall from prominence, eventually being relegated into the Championship, and he was sold to Newcastle United for a fee in the region of £3.6 million.
After spells with Newcastle and Aston Villa, Milner joined Manchester City, where he has been for five years, having completed a £26 million switch in the summer of 2010, in a transfer that also saw Stephen Ireland move in the opposite direction.
Often praised for his work-rate on and off the ball, the England stalwart also possesses great technical ability, a feature often overlooked.
Highlights of his City career include winning two Premier League titles and both winning a penalty and scoring the winning goal during a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down against German champions Bayern Munich.
Above all, it is a massive reflection of the importance and quality of the player that Manuel Pellegrini and the Manchester City board made the player an offer of £165,000 per week in order to convince him to continue at the club into his thirties.
Yet with his contract with Liverpool worth less than this, it would seem the club have signed a player who sees playing time as much more important than financial gain.
Another interesting point is that Milner joins Liverpool at the beginning of a season in the run-up to Euro 2016, and with the Reds signing him for first XI duties, this was also likely to have been a major factor in his decision to sign, as he is a player that is not a first name on the team sheet for country, even if he will be for his new club.
