ONE OF THE BEST

Liverpool’s Glen Johnson has become one of the best attacking right backs in the country. However, the future of the defender is yet to be sorted because he has less than two years left on his contract.

Johnson has accepted this part, but he is not yet ready to be worried about his contractual situation. It is understood that Liverpool are preparing an offer to keep the 29-year-old at the club. Johnson has also had niggling injury problems since the start of the season. It has also resulted in him being dropped from the latest England squad.

Players like Manchester United’s Chris Smalling and Tottenham’s Kyle Walker are proving to be much capable deputies. They were selected by manager Roy Hodgson for the double World Cup qualifying matches against Montenegro and Poland.

Johnson was injured for these matches, but still the presence of these players provides a viable alternative for Hodgson in case the performance of the former Portsmouth and Chelsea defender goes down from now till the end of the season. Johnson has acknowledged that playing in the 2014 World Cup is more important to him right now.

Even though Liverpool are preparing a new contract offer, it is understood that they may ask Johnson to lower his wages. This could prove to be a stumbling block.

“This is where I want to be. It’s where I’m happy and it’s what I’m fighting to do at the moment. I’m fighting to get a shirt on again. It will resolve itself. I’ve got 18 months left and no-one’s mentioned anything further to me, so my job is to warrant a new contract. All I can do is concentrate on working hard and doing well on the pitch. That’s served me well over the last five years and I’m sure it will serve me well in the future,” said Johnson.