Journalist Beren Cross has claimed that Leeds United won’t try and sign James Milner on a free as the club want to prioritise youth signings.
What’s the word?
The veteran midfielder signed a one-year extension with Liverpool last year but with that set to expire this summer his future remains up in the air.
Of course, the 37-year-old started his career way back in the early 2000s coming through the Leeds academy to play 53 games for the senior team.
Speaking to the press recently, manager Jesse Marsch claimed that the club could have actually brought Milner but they opted to go for Weston McKennie instead.
He said: “It would have been easy along the way to bring James Milner back or try to do some things like this to bring in Premier League experience or veteran players that understand the league.”
Writing for LeedsLive, Cross elaborated further on the decision explaining how the Leeds hierarchy prefer to sign younger players with “room to develop” and so a move for Milner is unlikely in the summer too.
The journalist explained: “James Milner’s return would have been the easy route for Leeds United, but Jesse Marsch and the hierarchy would rather pursue youth with room to develop. This summer marks 19 years since arguably the city’s finest footballing export moved onto pastures new.
“Now 37, Milner signed his latest Liverpool contract last summer to extend his stay at Anfield by another season. It remains to be seen what the veteran chooses to do this summer, but there have been no reports of a fresh deal as yet.”
Project youth
With Milner’s contract expiring, Leeds may have been tempted to try and get him in on the cheap this winter to help with their fight to avoid relegation this season. And they may still be considering a move for him in the summer for free but that doesn’t look to be a likely outcome.
With McKennie arriving, he should be able to bring plenty of energy – after all, at 24, he is 13 years younger than Milner – but he doesn’t have the same experience.
Indeed, the Englishman has won the Premier League on three occasions, the Champions League, as well as multiple League and FA Cup wins.
The American, on the other hand, has never played in England before but he has won silverware in Italy with Juventus so it’s not as if he’s some unproven teenager.
Of course, other winter signings such as 20-year-old Georginio Rutter only further go to prove the plan to develop youth but it remains to be seen if this tactic will work or not.
