Man City were offering him huge money to stay, Arsenal were also thought to be vying for his signature and yet he chose Liverpool. Make no mistake about it, James Milner is going to be a key member of Brendan Rodgers squad next season. There's even suggestions of the Liverpool captaincy going around.
Milner has never really got the recognition he deserves. For City, and for England, he's often been used wherever he's needed. The problem is that he does that too well for his own good. He's been unable to hold down a starting place precisely because of his versatility.
Granted, we can't say with any certainty but Milner should be an excellent addition for Liverpool. Suggestions that he is the most natural replacement for the Steven Gerrard of old have been dismissed but it's not that big a stretch to imagine it.
With Emre Can and Jordan Henderson set to take two midfield roles next season, Rodgers is in dire need of a creative force to turn that into an effective trio. Milner is the man to do that.
As summed up by Squawka's James McManus here, a number of stats have been going around showing just how effective Milner can be in the final third, even in relation to some of the Premier League's most dynamic midfielders.
James Milner created more chances than Juan Mata this season, recorded more assists than Mesut Ozil & scored more goals than Cesc Fabregas.
— James McManus (@JamesMcManus1) June 4, 2015
Before, you say it, the Fabregas stat is a bit of an outlier given that the Chelsea man is notoriously goal shy. However, as much as stats can be moulded to fit a point of view, the first two their are nonetheless key. Mata, Di Maria, Ramsey and Oscar are some of the Premier League's top creative talents and yet Milner created more chances than all of them last year, despite playing less than he would have liked.
Similarly his seven Premier League assists may not be at Fabregas level but it is equal to the likes of Raheem Sterling and better than Philippe Coutinho.
£150,000 a week may be top dollar for Milner but at this moment in time, it looks like he'll be worth it.
