Sources: Liverpool open talks over new deal, ace must take pay cut as offer ready

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Published on:

13 Sep 2019, 1:30 pm

By Wayne Veysey

Liverpool are ready to offer James Milner a new contract but he must take a pay cut if he wants to stay at the club, Football Insider understands.

The versatile midfielder, 33, joined on a free transfer from Manchester City in 2015 and signed a five-year deal that expires next summer.

A Liverpool source has told Football Insider that negotiations over an extension are underway but the club want Milner to sign a new agreement that has a lower basic pay and which includes top-up bonuses for appearances and performances.

It would mean the Champions League winner taking a major drop on his current £120,000-a-week salary, which made him one of the top earners when he joined.

There is confidence among all parties that an agreement can be secured for a player Jurgen Klopp regards as integral to his squad.

Milner has proved an excellent acquisition for Liverpool, making 181 appearances in which he has scored 22 goals and provided 37 assists.

Used as a central midfielder in the last two seasons, the former City, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Leeds United star also spent a season as the Reds' first choice left-back.

He turns 34 in January and Liverpool are keen he signs an extension that will keep him at the club beyond his 35th birthday.

In other Liverpool news, it can be REVEALED that the club told a player to find a new team amid fears over dressing room harmony.

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