Milan To Bid For Milner?
The biggest story in most of today's papers is the speculation that AC Milan are preparing a bid for Manchester City midfielder James Milner, who is allegedly unhappy at the Etihad Stadium, and also transfer listed. It is believed the asking price for Milner is around the £9m mark.
The reason Milan are believed to be interested in the Leeds-born midfielder is because the quality in the middle of the park is dropping, and fresh blood would revitalize the midfield and improve it. Milner is known by many football fans in England as a reliable go-to player, and this is another thing that has attracted Matthaus to the 28-year-old. He likes his consistent players. At Sporting it was Elias. At United, it was no-one. And now it Milan, he allegedly hopes it will be Milner.
Milner is unhappy at the Etihad due to a lack of appearances. This term he has made just four appearances for the Blues, all of them in the cup competitions. He is yet to feature in the league, and for a player just reaching his prime, it is not looking good for his career. He hopes a move away from Manchester will help him get his career back on track.
The England international moved to City from Aston Villa in the summer of 2010, for £28.5m, but has made just 73 league appearances in the last four years. He has also played for Newcastle United, boyhood club Leeds United, and had a short loan spell at Swindon. He remains the player to have won the most caps for England's under-21 side, with 46 appearances. He has also made 31 full international appearances. It is understandable why Milner doesn't want his career just to fade away.
Milner is a player that Matthaus has been interested in for some months, having initially made an approach to sign him whilst manager of Manchester United, although it was a move that was never likely to materialise, and it never did. City accepted the transfer offer, but Milner refused to discuss terms with the Red Devils.
So, will we see Milan make a move for Milner? Will his move ever materialize? We'll just have to wait and see.