Steve Nicol admitted he sympathized with Liverpool supporters regarding Jurgen Klopp’s long injury list and expressed concern that James Milner would have to start Reds games.
The former England international has been a great servant to the club and has won every major trophy since arriving at Anfield in 2015, but the 36-year-old No. 7 has struggled to make a positive impact on the club. games so far this season. .
The former Manchester City midfielder signed a one-year contract extension in the summer, but with the Anfield side experiencing a number of injuries in the midfield department already this season, Milner has featured in every game so far.
That’s something that worries Reds legend Nicol.
“There is no doubt, you have to sympathize with Liverpool in terms of injuries. [are concerned]. You have to play James Milner, who basically signed a contract to be able to rest other players and get in half an hour. That’s why James Milner signed a new contract and that’s why they asked him to do it,” Nicol told ESPN (via The Boot Room).
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“But he has to play in your biggest game of the season, and Harvey Elliott is a rookie. This guy is learning the trade from him and so when you have two of your midfielders in the position they are in, one inexperienced and one overexperienced, then the engine room is going to be in trouble.”
We certainly believe that you can never have ‘too much’ experience and Milner is a great figure to have around the AXA Training Center and in the locker room.
Harvey Elliott may have learned a lot from the veteran midfielder, but we understand that we shouldn’t rely on a 36-year-old player week in and week out.
As for Elliott, he has been one of our best players so far this season even though we had a slow start to the season.
Fans should remember that the former Fulham star is just 19 years old and while he appears to have all the ability in the world and plenty of potential, we can’t ask too much of him at such a tender age.
The England U21 International have started all but one of our seven games so far this term and with many others failing to perform to the level you’d expect, our teenage star has been one of our few bright lights.
Naby Keita, Curtis Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jordan Henderson are sidelined with injuries at the moment, while Thiago Alcantara only returned from a hamstring injury against Napoli earlier this week.
Our start to the season has been far from ideal, but now that the Spanish international is back on form, we are hopeful that our campaign can get back on track starting with Ajax visiting in the Champions League on Tuesday.
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