Jurgen Klopp reportedly had plans in mind for one of the four players who Liverpool confirmed would be leaving Anfield.
The club announced on Wednesday that Bobby Firmino, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner will all depart Merseyside upon the expiry of their contracts next month, although the manager had seemingly been very eager to keep the latter.
According to The Mirror, the 37-year-old had been offered a coaching role with the Reds, with the German apparently ‘desperate’ to utilise the midfielder’s two-decade knowledge bank as a Premier League player.
However, there was no formal offer of a new deal for the veteran, who reportedly sought a fresh challenge elsewhere after eight years at Liverpool, with rumours of a move to Brighton doing the rounds lately.
Despite Milner’s advancing years in terms of his playing career, his importance to the squad is reflected in him making 41 appearances this season, a tally exceeded by just seven players at Anfield (Transfermarkt).
With more than 850 senior matches accumulated since his debut for Leeds in 2002, almost 700 of which were in either the Premier League or Champions League (Transfermarkt), the Yorkshire native has built up a catalogue of high-level experience that few footballers of any era can match.
With the 37-year-old also being widely held up as a role model of professionalism in the way he applies himself, it’s no wonder Klopp had seemingly been so eager to coax him into a coaching position for Liverpool.
That isn’t to say Milner won’t be back at Anfield in such a capacity in the future, though, with many great LFC players of the past carving out high-profile careers in the dugout and, in some cases, even returning to manage the Reds.
In whatever guise it may be, the departing midfielder can be guaranteed the warmest of welcomes when he next sets foot in the stadium after he says his goodbyes to the Kop at the final whistle of Saturday’s game against Aston Villa.