Breaking Down What Former Man City Man James Milner Will Bring to Liverpool

James Milner was announced as the first signing of the summer for Liverpool at the beginning of June, with the 29-year-old midfielder kick-starting a recruitment drive that has so far seen six new faces join up with Brendan Rodgers' squad.

Milner rejected an offer of £165,000 a week from former club Manchester City in favour of a move to Merseyside, according to Jack Gaughan and Mike Keegan of MailOnline, and made the switch on the expiry of his contract on July 1.

Rodgers will be overjoyed to have secured the signing of the England international, who will effectively serve as the club's replacement for departed midfielder Steven Gerrard.

But just what does Milner bring to Liverpool? 

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Most importantly, Milner will add supreme quality to Rodgers' ranks. As Rob Pollard wrote for Bleacher Report in October of last year: "Milner is the epitome of an 'unsung hero.'"

"Seen by many as nothing more than an industrious player, the truth is he also possesses technical quality and thoroughly deserves his place in City’s hugely talented squad," Pollard continued. There is good reason why City paid a BBC Sport-reported £26 million for him when he moved from Aston Villa in 2010 and why he held his own for five years alongside two world-class fellow arrivals from that summer in Yaya Toure and David Silva.

Then-City manager Roberto Mancini hailed Milner's talents on sealing the deal:

"

He is an excellent midfielder, who can play in a number of positions.

This is important for the team, and I am looking forward to seeing him play for us. We have a very strong squad, and this signing is a very important one for us.

James is already a very good player, who has proved he can play at the very top level. But he is also young and a good character, I think he can also improve and be a great player for a long time.

"

Milner made the move from "very good" to "great" during his time at City, and he has honed his status as a multi-faceted, workmanlike midfielder.

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In 2014/15, for example, he scored five goals and made seven assists in 32 Premier League appearances. With just 18 of these coming as a starter, this is a highly respectable tally, particularly given he played just 1,744 minutes over these games.

He averaged a goal contribution every 145 minutes, which is higher than Liverpool's standout performer from last season, Philippe Coutinho, who averaged a goal contribution every 280 minutes, after scoring five goals and making five assists in 35 games.

Furthermore, as Pollard references, Milner is an incredibly industrious player. He made 2.8 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per 90 minutes in the league, pairing this with an average of 2.7 key passes per 90—again, all higher than Coutinho, who made two tackles, 0.5 interceptions and 1.9 key passes on average per 90 Premier League minutes.

He is able to complement a strong defensive contribution with a real threat on goal—reminiscent of Gerrard before his decline. 

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As Mancini described Milner as a player "who can play in a number of positions," this points to another quality that the former Leeds United youth star can bring to Merseyside. There are very few players as versatile and consistent as Milner.

Last season, for example, he played in six different positions for City—all across the midfield and in the forward line, including a three-game stint as a centre-forward. City goalkeeper Joe Hart joked in an interview with FourFourTwo's Ben Welch last year that "goalkeeper is the last [position] he needs to cover," with Milner having also operated in defence in the past.

This is something that City manager Manuel Pellegrini referenced in conversation with the Guardian's Sid Lowe earlier this year, as he gushed with praise for his jack-of-all-trades star:

"

I’m Milner’s No. 1 fan. Find me a more complete English player. There are players who’re better technically, yes. Quicker players, yes. Players who head better, yes. But show me one who does all the things Milner does well. There isn’t one.

It’s hard to leave him out. Respect, commitment and performance level: 10/10, fantastic. He’s polyfunctional: full-back – the only position he doesn’t like – attacking midfield, wide. I played him as a forward and the team averaged three goals a game. He gives everything. You leave him on the bench and he’s absolutely furious but watch him during the game: encouraging, shouting, supporting. And in the next training session he kills himself.

"

Milner has the quality to succeed, but the fact he is able to do so with consistency throughout a wide variety of positions is the true testament to his talent; that he also has the desire to do so despite never quite holding down one position at City is a mark of his character and fortitude.

However, it is clear that he is at his best in a central-midfield role—the role that made him such a big-money target for City after watching him excel at Villa Park—and he has a return to this position earmarked at Liverpool, as he told the club's official website this month.

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"It's a great challenge for me," he said. "I want to play football and play more centrally if I can—and that's where the manager said he sees me playing.

"That's a big thing for me coming to the later stages of my career—I'm not going to say the end of my career because I still feel I have plenty of football left in me!—I want to play as much football as I can."

First-team football motivated the move, and his quality and consistency demand this at Liverpool.

As Milner continued, he highlighted another key attribute that he will bring during his time on Merseyside:

"

If you look at the squad here, there is a great mix of home-grown British players and foreign lads as well, but there's also quite a lot of younger players in there.

I've been lucky enough to be playing for maybe 13 years or something now - it makes me feel a bit older! - but hopefully I can bring that experience to the squad and help those younger guys along.

As I said, I've been fortunate enough to win trophies. Obviously Liverpool came so close a couple of years ago to winning the league and being up against them in that title run-in, it felt like the whole world wanted them to win the league. That shows the love for the club and the global respect for the team.

Hopefully, my experience can help us get into that position again. And if I can use the experience of winning trophies to help the younger guys, hopefully it can help get us over the line and win some silverware.

"

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Milner, a veteran of 13 Premier League seasons and a two-time title winner, can bring immeasurable experience to a Liverpool squad that so sorely lacked winners in 2014/15. Aside from Gerrard, there were very few players that could grab a game by the scruff of the neck and drag the Reds to victory; Coutinho was Rodgers' only other consistent match-winner, though he only rose to prominence in the second half of the season, while key centre-forward Daniel Sturridge missed most of the campaign through injury.

Liverpool have shown a tactical naivety through much of Rodgers' tenure—chasing victory when a draw would have been just as effective against Chelsea in 2013/14 standing out as the key example—and Milner's experience will help temper this.

While Jordan Henderson took the captain's armband on Gerrard's move to LA Galaxy this summer, and the likes of Martin Skrtel and Lucas Leiva are more likely to be considered for the official role of vice-captain, the hugely experienced Milner will serve as one of Rodgers' leaders both on and off the pitch.

Moreover, though Roberto Firmino is Liverpool's big-money acquisition of the summer so far, and the likes of Divock Origi and Nathaniel Clyne may be more exciting names for Reds supporters as they take in the club's transfer dealings ahead of the 2015/16 campaign, Milner may just be Rodgers' best piece of business so far.

In adding Milner to his squad—on a free transfer no less—he has acquired a player of genuine quality, remarkable consistency, practical versatility, top-level experience and all-important leadership.

Liverpool's new No. 7 won't lift supporters off their seats as often as Firmino, Sturridge or Coutinho, but he may just win the Reds more points.

Statistics via WhoScored.com.

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