Liverpool Transfer News: Reds Must Cash in on Glen Johnson While They Can

It seems that every team in the Premier League has one player that’s a little unpopular with the supporters. Admittedly, upon assumption of this unenviable mantle, they're judged a little harsher than the rest of the squad. If things aren’t going particularly well, he'll be the player that typically cops most of the flak.

At the moment, Liverpool’s player of that ilk is Glen Johnson, and although he could be forgiven for some ropey performances after returning from injury at the start of the calendar year, the standard of displays served up by the full-back as of late have been pretty deplorable.

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So with that in mind—not to mention the fact that Johnson’s Liverpool contract expires at the end of the season—the Reds should do all they can to offload the 30-year-old in January. Even if it is just for a nominal fee.

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And with Real Madrid and Juventus reportedly interested in the England international, per reports in Europe (h/t Ben Jefferson of the Express), Brendan Rodgers should be doing all he can shift out a player who will be on big wages and unlikely to see much in terms of first team football during this season.

Speaking to James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo last month, Johnson insisted he was chilled about his contract situation:

"

I’m very relaxed about my contract.

There are no talks going on with the club at the moment. There were minor talks towards the end of last season but nothing else. I’ve loved playing my football here from day one.

I’m more than happy here. But obviously I can only talk to the club about it when they want to speak to me.

"

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Although the Reds have soared under the tutelage of Rodgers, Johnson’s fall from grace hasn’t been a case of the Merseysiders simply outgrowing him, rather than the former Portsmouth man’s performances taking a nosedive.

At his best, Johnson has shown himself to be one of most capable full-backs around. He was outstanding going forward and regularly made key contributions in advanced areas. Indeed, during the 2012/13 season—one of his best in the iconic red strip—he was a major attacking force for the Reds, as noted her per WhoScored:

And even though his defending was regularly slated, it wasn’t ever quite as bad as his detractors made out. During his best days in a Liverpool shirt, he was understatedly capable at the back, and throughout Euro 2012 he was one of England’s finest performers; primarily for his defensive efforts and energetic lateral forays.

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But since injuries punctured early parts of his campaign during the 2013/14 season, he’s looked a shadow of the marauding full-back he once was. Suddenly it seems as though he can barely play an accurate pass, he runs down blind alleys and he clings onto possession for far too long.

The worst moment of his entire campaign came when Liverpool suffered a defensive capitulation against Crystal Palace. Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe had some harsh words for the full-back after he played a critical role in the Reds conceding three late goals at Selhurst Park:

If you factor in the emergence of the uncompromising Jon Flanagan and the arrival of two hungry young full-backs in Javier Manquillo and Alberto Moreno, suddenly Johnson’s leggy, half-fussed displays have left him way down the pecking order.

That doesn’t seem to have put off two off Europe’s more illustrious names though, and Liverpool should be very grateful indeed. According to Jefferson’s piece, both Madrid and Juve are privy to a January deal, and if the Anfield outfit can accrue any kind of seven-figure sum for Johnson in the mid-season window, they should take it and run.

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By doing so, Rodgers would free up some room on the wage budget and recoup some money for a player that would otherwise walk away on a free transfer. A player that at this juncture is currently offering very little to the Reds’ cause.

Either of those clubs would represent a tremendous move for Johnson and perhaps a stint abroad in a slower paced league will suit him as he moves into the twilight of his career.

But he surely has no future at Liverpool. He doesn’t fit the blueprint that Rodgers has instilled into this Anfield set-up of young, hungry, enterprising players. In fact, at this juncture, Johnson resembles a man who is the very antithesis of it.