Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers admits that the club are to discuss with defender Glen Johnson over a potential new contract.
This appears to be confirmation that the club are no longer interested in retaining the services of Johnson, who moved to the club in a £ 16 million deal from Portsmouth in 2009. Since then he has become one of the top defenders in English football. His attacking instincts have made him a force to reckon with, although he may be a little susceptible in defence. These attacking qualities have helped Rodgers utilise the defender in the 3-4-3 formation.
Johnson is coming to the end of his contract at Liverpool. He is already free to discuss terms with foreign clubs, but he will be available for negotiations with English clubs starting from June. Since there is little time to sort over the final details, it was not that Johnson would stay at Liverpool only if the contract talks started a few months ago. This has proved not be the case after Rodgers confirmed that the club are yet to open negotiations with the player. The £ 100,000 per week wage demands of the player appeared to have put the club away. Johnson, though, has been linked with a move to Barcelona to replace Dani Alves.
“I haven’t spoken recently to Glen (about his future). What I know is he’s committed in training, he’s never not wanted to train.He’s been outstanding in training, just waiting for his opportunity. We’ll just have to see what the summer brings,” said Rodgers. The club’s former defender Mark Lawrenson stated that Liverpool should not allow Johnson to leave on a free and that the club should take advantage of the experience within the England international considering that Steven Gerrard is also set to leave in the upcoming summer.