Former Everton manager Sam Allardyce feels James Milner has the ability to embarrass young players.
Allardyce was speaking to talkSPORT, where he praised Milner to the hilt. He labelled the Liverpool man a ‘leader’ and ‘massive character’ among other things and claims he should receive more accolades.
He also believes Milner can “embarrass the younger players as they can’t keep up with him.”
Allardyce isn’t the first to praise Milner for what he brings, of course. Louis van Gaal believes even Neymar and Lionel Messi can learn from him as he called Milner ‘one of the best’.
On paper, Jurgen Klopp has taken a risk with his midfield. He hasn’t moved in the conventional direction of different players for different roles.
Instead, Klopp has gone for a midfield who can do a bit of everything. Jordan Henderson, Milner, Gini Wijnaldum, Naby Keita, and Fabinho are capable of it all – jacks of all trades, really.
And Milner arguably deserves the most praise. He’s asked to play an all-action game at the top level and at the age of 33. He’s been doing this for a long, long time.
Despite that, he appears to do it effortlessly. Milner can play several positions and in different ways, he can press for 90 minutes, and he can hold his own against the very best.
He’s a remarkable player and Allardyce is right – he sets a standard that embarrasses most.
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