One player most LFC fans would be happy to see the back of is Glen Johnson
Glen Johnson
Glen Johnson is no longer a spring chicken at 30 and turns 31 in August. The England international has suffered injury problems in the last 12 months and has lost his place in the starting line-up.
The recent formation switch to three at the back has seen Johnson act as cover for the established defence of Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho and Emre Can instead of competing for the wing-back positions with Alberto Moreno, Lazar Markovic and Javi Manquillo. You would think that Johnson would be fighting that trio for a starting place, given his attacking qualities always masked the fact that he was never the best defender, but he seems to have edged ahead of Dejan Lovren as the back-up centre-half.
However, with his contract running out at the end of the season and Kolo Toure soon to return from the Africa Cup of Nations, this will be the only chance to fetch a fee for Johnson before being on a free in the summer.
There have been suggestions of a new contract, perhaps to keep some experience in the squad with Steven Gerrard’s imminent departure to LA Galaxy, but with wages reportedly exceeding £100,000 a week, the experience should be found from elsewhere. Johnson does not merit a new deal and selling him would at least bring in some funds to secure a proper centre-half as a replacement, such as West Ham’s Winston Reid.
Yet it looks unlikely that anyone will come in for Johnson on the final day as they would have surely entered negotiations earlier in the window. Roma and Juventus have expressed interest but Johnson will probably remain at Liverpool until the end of the season and then leave for Italy on a free. Likelihood of leaving: 5/10
