Liverpool midfielder James Milner must reportedly agree to slash his salary in order to pen a new contract with the Reds.
As things stand, the 37-year-old will leave the Anfield club when his existing contract expires at the end of the season, but Jurgen Klopp is supposedly keen for him to stay a little while longer.
Given his advancing years, Milner has slowly slipped down the pecking order in Liverpool's midfield, but his experience and leadership qualities are highly valued in the Liverpool dressing room.
A recent report claimed that Klopp had urged the Liverpool board to hand the ex-England international a new one-year deal, as he feels that Milner still has a lot to offer at the top level.
However, in order to prolong his Merseyside journey, Football Insider claims that Milner will have to accept a pay cut before putting pen to paper on fresh terms.
Milner only agreed to a new one-year contract on a reduced wage at the end of the 2021-22 season, and his current deal supposedly sees him earn £60,000 a week.
Liverpool are already understood to be working on an extension until 2024 and are hopeful that negotiations can be concluded quickly, but not before Milner gives the green light to a salary cut.
Back in January, Klopp waxed lyrical about the former Manchester City man and hinted that he wanted to keep him around, saying: "We have different plans for Milly but Milly wants to keep playing, and when you see him play the other night [against Wolves] I think everyone understands that.
"You can't judge him normal for his age. He is 37, but he doesn't look a day like this when he is in training. He is an incredibly important player and in this game (Wolves) you saw on the pitch as well.
"It is not that Milly expects to play 64 games a season but in a 64-game season Milly could be extremely important. That is how it is. Milly has reached 600 games and most of them were for Liverpool.
"Even a player who had a few clubs can end up at 'his' club and I would consider Liverpool as 'his' club, and I am pretty sure the club should use his character and his mindset because it is really special.
"There might be more fancy players out there but no one with a similar mindset and that makes him incredibly valuable for us. And it is not because I am 'too loyal'; it is just a fact."
Milner has 26 goals and 46 assists under his belt from 321 games in a Liverpool jersey since arriving in 2015, setting up two goals in 32 appearances during the current campaign.
The 37-year-old sits fourth in the all-time Premier League appearance charts with 608 matches, one behind Frank Lampard and further adrift of Ryan Giggs (632) and Gareth Barry (653).
Milner has won seven different trophies at Anfield, including the Champions League and Premier League, but the Reds will still sanction several other midfield exits whether the Englishman agrees to a new contract.
Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are poised to leave on free transfers, while Arthur is set to return to Juventus following the completion of his frustrating loan spell.
However, the Reds have been dealt a major blow in their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, who is now said to be increasingly unlikely to move to Anfield due to the cost of a deal. body check tags ::
