Liverpool star is considering a future move to Leeds.
Liverpool star James Milner has been discussing a potential return to Leeds United.
Milner wrote in ‘Ask A Footballer: My Guide to Kicking a Ball About’, as reported by The Express: “I love the club, but I also love playing for Liverpool and I want to play at the highest level for as long as I can.
“If my time at Liverpool came to an end and I was going to go somewhere else and Leeds were one of the clubs that were interested in me, then that would be a very exciting option for all the reasons I mention.”
Leeds’ chances of signing Milner clearly depend on winning promotion, he’s still clearly too good to play at Championship level, having won the Champions League earlier this year for the first time.
But there is another big factor in play too, which would threaten any chances of a deal. And that’s manager Marcelo Bielsa.
Bielsa is very headstrong in the transfer market, as shown by his determination to sell popular player Pontus Jansson, to the outcry of fans at the time.
The potential issue for Bielsa is that he does not like signing older players. The oldest player he has signed for Leeds was Barry Douglas, who was 28 at the time.
James Milner will be 34 in January, older than the type of footballer Bielsa usually signs.
In fact you have to back to 2012, which will be eight years ago next summer, when Bielsa last signed a player over 30 for any of his clubs.
This was striker Aritz Aduriz, who was 31 at the time.
The promising element of this was that Bielsa gave in on this occasion because of the calls for Athletic Bilbao to re-sign the veteran.
If Leeds win promotion and Milner becomes available, there will be big calls from Leeds fans to make an exception.
It would be smart for Bielsa to make an exception for the midfielder, but the Argentine is so headstrong that it would not be a surprise if he decided to veto a move.
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