Summer Parting of Ways Would Be Beneficial for Both Glen Johnson and Liverpool

Liverpool have performed significantly better in the second half of the current season, reigniting their push for a top-four finish in the Premier League to seal Champions League football once more next term.

The demand to perform better both domestically and abroad means that manager Brendan Rodgers will not want to lose too many members of his squad, especially experienced players, considering club captain Steven Gerrard will depart in summer.

Partly for that reason, Kolo Toure has been offered a new deal, reports the Liverpool Echo—but the club should not worry about doing the same with Glen Johnson.

The right-back is said by the Liverpool Echo to have spoken to foreign-based clubs, including AS Roma, and the Reds and player alike would mutually benefit by going their separate ways this summer.

Johnson's Deal

The most prohibitive part of Liverpool and Johnson agreeing any new deal is the terms on offer.

"

Glen Johnson says he may move abroad when his contract expires after costing Liverpool a whopping £54million in wages and transfer fee.

— David Anderson (@MirrorAnderson) March 9, 2015"

Earning around £120,000 per week, Johnson is one of the club's biggest earners since the exits of Pepe Reina, Jamie Carragher and Luis Suarez. With Gerrard's wages also off the books this summer, the No. 2 and No. 8 leaving will see the Reds' wage bill drop by more than £1 million a month from those two departures alone.

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At 30 years old, Johnson has been on an obvious and not particularly gradual decline for the better part of three years.

He isn't a first-choice player, has too infrequently shown anything like value for money on the pitch and is constantly riddled by injuries. It's not just money which makes a deal prohibitive, but also length—Liverpool can't afford to have such an inconsistent asset tied to them for another long period.

"

If Glen Johnson gets a new contract at £80k+, and we can't give Henderson and Sterling what they want, something is very wrong with the club

— RobinLFC (@Robish13) March 9, 2015"

Johnson told the Liverpool Echo there have been no new talks with the club and a move outside the Premier League is possible.

"

There’s no update. There have been no talks. At this point I have no idea (where I will be next season). I haven’t thought about it. I’ve got two months left here and we will see what happens after that. I’m just going to keep my head down and keep training.

I do like the idea of going abroad. There have been talks. I’m still young and it would be great for the kids. But I’m not thinking about that at the moment, We will have to wait and see.

"

New Challenge

Johnson has played out his entire career in England of course, and having made no real impact in the past couple of campaigns, it is natural he wants a new lease to challenge him. A move abroad can be a bigger challenge than expected—fellow full-back Ashley Cole is an example of that—but that could be what gives Johnson a chance at a footballing rebirth.

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He needs to play, to be able to experience perhaps a slightly slower tempo of game to suit his style on the ball, which is far too slow and ponderous to suit Liverpool now.

With Micah Richards also in Italy and James Milner considering the possibility according to reports, Serie A could almost be seen as a new retirement and rejuvenation village for England's former international stars.

Reds Restructure

As for Liverpool, a recent move to 3-4-3 doesn't suit Johnson at all. At his peak, the wide-right role might have been perfect for him with defensive cover behind and plenty of movement ahead, but even then he was prone to dallying too long in possession, overdoing it on his dribbles and generally lacking the requisite end product.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Now, the likes of Jordon Ibe have searing pace and the ability to beat a man, which Johnson rarely shows. Ibe is also capable of being a goalscoring threat. In fairness, Johnson did usually turn up four or five a season for a period, but his last couple of seasons have seen a dreadful recurring theme of "cut inside, shoot left-footed, drag it wide" when he gets into promising positions.

Johnson played on the right of three centre-backs in the FA Cup at the weekend, but clearly this is not a long-term solution for the team. They have only just gotten some semblance of solidity at the back with Emre Can usually playing that role. Improvements must continue, either through Can developing further or a more specialised defender, also comfortable on the ball, coming in to allow Can to play elsewhere.

Either way, there's no room for Johnson on the pitch or on the wage bill when ordered by value offered, and it's right he departs Anfield this summer after six years and fewer than 200 games with the club.

Follow @karlmatchett