Liverpool are reportedly hoping to sign Napoli’s Serie A midfielder Zielinski in 2019.
2018 has arguably been the best of James Milner’s club career.
The 32-year-old has long been a target for critics up and down the country, but he has shelved that ‘boring Milner’ tag at last with a quite outstanding couple of months under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
The former Manchester City man broke the record for the most assists in a single Champions League campaign last season, setting up nine goals en route to the final in Kiev. And Milner has started 2018/19 in a similar vein, scoring or assisting three goals in four games to contribute to Liverpool’s 100 per cent record.
Milner, however, will turn 33 in January. And, although he is in fantastic form right now, it remains to be seen how an ageing player can adapt to Klopp’s infamously tough demands over the next year or so.
It makes sense, then, that Liverpool would be looking for a player to take the mantle from Milner eventually. And Piotr Zielinski, who Klopp has allegedly coveted since 2016, could be that man.
Calciomercato claim that Liverpool could make a move for Napoli’s Polish international next summer, despite suggestions he could be set to sign a new contract with a £100 million release clause.
Zielinski, like Milner, is an all-round midfielder capable of scoring long-range stunners, dictating the tempo from deep or haring around the field with his seemingly boundless energy. He is also six years younger, at just 24.
So could he be the man to take Milner’s place in the coming years?
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