Former Newcastle United player Steven Taylor has hailed praise on Liverpool midfielder James Milner, as the 36-year-old is now set to reach 600 Premier League appearances.
That’s reported by BBC Sport, as Jurgen Klopp’s favourite all-rounder could make the incredible milestone appearance on Sunday as the Reds face off against Tottenham Hotspur.
Marking 20 years at the top level after making his debut as a 16-year-old playing for Leeds United, Milner would join an exclusive club of just three other members who have also achieved the same feat: those being Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry and Ryan Giggs.
Taylor has spoken of his admiration for the former Manchester City man, as he remains the last player of their generation to still be playing at the highest level.
As quoted by BBC Sport, the former Magpie claimed: “It’s amazing. He’s kind of the last one of my generation and to see what he’s doing is phenomenal. He deserves all the credit he gets because of the way he is as a character.
“You know you’re going to get 100% from him. He can play anywhere and he’s a fighter. You want people like that out on the pitch. He never gets injured, and you can always count on him. He’s a guaranteed eight out of 10 every game.”
Steven Taylor praises James Milner
Whilst I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for the 36-year-old due to his brilliant service of Liverpool football club, Taylor’s claim that ‘he’s a guaranteed eight out of 10 every game’ is a little far-fetched.
As a squad player, the Englishman is fantastic. He will play any position Klopp needs him to cover, and he will often do so as if that were his natural role. For example, thus far this term, Milner has played in his usual central midfield position in half of the Premier League fixtures he has featured in. However, the other half have come as a right-back – an area of the pitch he has become far more familiar with under the German manager in recent years.
Despite a number of fine performances, SofaScore have statistically rated Milner as the Reds’ second-worst performing player in the Champions League this season.
Whilst this is an unfair assessment, his form as of late has somewhat fluctuated. In the last two Premier League fixtures, the 36-year-old has gone from Liverpool’s man of the match against Nottingham Forest to the side’s lowest-rated player against Leeds.
At this stage in his career, the Yorkshireman should not really be a name included on the Reds’ starting team sheet. Whilst he can be utilised as a handy bit-part player off the bench, Milner’s time at the top is slowly coming to an end – but he can still do a job for Klopp.
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