Thursday, June 30, 2011

Dalglish Close To Snaring £20m England Wideman

Liverpool appear to be one of the busiest clubs in the transfer market as they are continually linked with a number of possible signings, the latest being Manchester City midfielder James Milner.

The England regular made the move to Eastlands last season and despite moving for £26million failed to make a huge impression on boss Roberto Mancini, making just 22 league appearances and not scoring a single Premier League goal.

Competing with the likes of David Silva, Adam Johnson and Yaya Toure for a place as an attacking midfielder, Milner often found himself on the bench and struggled to show the form that had made him one of Aston Villa's star players.

The former Leeds United player has been linked with a possible move back to Aston Villa, but new boss Alex McLeish could face competition from Liverpool who is desperate add some wide players to their squad.

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish had hoped to tie up a deal for Villa winger Stewart Downing but has so far been unable to push a deal through. Now he may turn his attention to Milner who has the ability to play on either wing or in the centre of midfield.

The 25-year-old has made 19 appearances for England but has yet to really establish himself as a first team regular and would certainly want to start more games next season if he is to convince Fabio Capello that he deserves to start games.

According to the Daily Mail, City has hired John Williams to try and push through deals for a number of their fringe players but so far suggestions are that this does not include Milner.

However, should Milner decide that he needs to start more regularly then he may need to move away from Eastlands to make this happen. Liverpool is currently struggling in wide positions with Maxi Rodriguez, Joe Cole and Dirk Kuyt asked to play on the wing, despite none being out and out wingers.

While Liverpool certainly have the money to tempt City to sell, it remains to be seen whether boss Roberto Mancini would be prepared to sell to a top four rival.

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