Is Liverpool’s make-shift left-back going to get found out? Steve Nicol thinks so.
Steve Nicol has told ESPN that Liverpool’s James Milner has been an “adequate” left-back but warns that he will get found out soon.
The Liverpool midfielder has been operating on the left-hand side defence for most of the season due to Alberto Moreno’s perceived frailties in this role.
The Spaniard endured a horrendous end to the previous season with the Reds, but manager Jurgen Klopp failed to recruit an appropriate replacement.
Instead, Milner, who spent most of last season in Liverpool’s midfield, has been plugging gaps, and he has done okay, but Nicol tells ESPN that he is in for a rude awakening very soon.
“Having James Milner at left-back….he’s been adequate. And eventually he’s going to get found out when he comes up against a wide player with genuine pace and genuine trickery. At the moment, he hasn’t come up against anybody like that.”
Nicol may have a point. Milner has done pretty well but he has not been majorly tested in that role as of yet, and when he is, Klopp might have to seriously consider drafting in a top-class left-back during the winter, if he is not already trying to find one.
Still, Milner is certainly a better option than Moreno, who has proven himself a liability time and again.
Liverpool’s James Milner in action with Sevilla’s Grzegorz Krychowiak
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