‘Modric’ Milner has been at the heart of Klopp’s winning culture but his future is in the hands of FSG

Jurgen Klopp greeted James Milner with a clasping hug when he was brought off for Thiago after 78 minutes of Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Newcastle United.

Even the Newcastle faithful, who had whistled and jeered their former player for his slow trudge off, eventually reciprocated Klopp’s touchline applause.

Milner is 36 years old and was making only his eighth Premier League start this season – the previous one was against Chelsea on January 2 — but his lack of starts and game minutes did not show.

Inside the first 30 seconds, he had hooked the ball clear from inside his own penalty area to alleviate early Newcastle pressure. From then on, he formed a solid partnership with Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita in midfield.

All three were involved in the game’s only goal.

It was Milner’s toe-poke from underneath Fabian Schar that proved vital in the build-up. Schar was left complaining in a heap as Milner slid the ball to Henderson, who lifted it across into Keita’s path. There was a quick one-two exchange with Diogo Jota followed by a slick rounding of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka that saw Keita score with 19 minutes gone.

Milner was tireless in his approach, and creative too. He played more accurate passes in the opposition half than any other player on the pitch. The nearest best to the 27 he stacked up was Henderson with 26.

He also created four Liverpool chances, joint highest with Jota.

Another standout statistic was Milner’s 66.7 per cent duel success rate. Of the nine he went into, he won six. Only one Liverpool starter, Virgil van Dijk at 75 per cent (three out of four), did better.

When former Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey had a free-kick from around 20 yards out in the second half, it was Milner who contorted his body to head it away. The force of the strike left him down and needing medical attention. But this, as his hoofed clearance had in the first minute, helped cool a spell of Newcastle pressure as Liverpool briefly went top of the table again.

Klopp was asked about Milner after the game and whether he has met a fitter, more dedicated professional. “No,” he answered. “But it would be interesting to look at Luka Modric, is he not 36 as well? It’s a good generation! But, it is difficult to be fitter than Milly. He’s a role model. I told him nothing we have achieved in the last few years would have happened without James Milner. Whether he is on the pitch or not. That’s because he sets standards in a way not a lot of people can.”

Milner’s name being used in the same sentence as the four-months-older Modric’s does fit, even if he hasn’t always been held in the same realm of prestige as the Ballon d’Or winner. The Leeds lad is a winner, as Klopp said, and for Liverpool he has been a point of calm too. Only this time, his experience and expertise in shoring up games was tapped into from the start of it, and not like it has been for the majority of this season — for the ending of it.

Klopp knows the importance of having Milner around and wants to keep it that way. It is no secret he wants the former England international to, as he has just done himself, extend his contract. Milner’s current deal is set to expire in the summer and he is not short of options.

There have been talks between the club and his representatives, though nothing has been agreed. Milner’s wage and contract-length demands are not believed to be issues but the discussions are being shaped by Fenway Sports Group, which owns the club, and the ball ultimately is in FSG’s court.

FSG run a financially prudent operation. As it has shown in the past, it thinks carefully about the finer details of what it offers players and what a player offers in return.

For example, Georginio Wijnaldum, who joined Liverpool from Newcastle in the summer of 2016, was allowed to leave the club on a free transfer at the end of his five years of service.

While the club have recently extended Klopp’s deal, they are yet to strike agreements with two of their most important players of the current era, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, whose contracts will have only one year to go come the summer. How much of the budget is taken up in securing either or both of those players could dictate what can be spent on others.

One thing currently certain is Milner will continue playing beyond this season’s close.

His performance at his former stomping ground of St James’ Park demonstrated that.

If that future is not with Liverpool, Klopp will not be the only person left feeling disappointed.

(Photo: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)