Milner is the hardest working player in the Premier League
There has been much talk since Jurgen Klopp took over as Liverpool manager about who his potential signings could be, which staff might follow him to Anfield and what his preferred formation might be.
But, perhaps most crucially, there are a number of players currently at the club that may yet turn out to be perfect ‘Klopp’ players.
And if the stats are any indication then James Milner, Liverpool’s new VC, could turn out to be one of Jurgen’s main men. Particularly if he opts (as he likely will) to implement his much-admired ‘Gegenpressing’ style of high-pressing, high work rate football.
With the stats provided EA Sports Player Performance Index, we can show that Milner is perhaps the hardest working player in the Premier League, and certainly the player that covers the most ground, which will help to earn him a spot on the plane to France as the Three Lions aim to confound the betting on England for Euro 2016.
As the table below shows, Milner had covered a significant amount more ground in the opening 8 games this season, compared to his nearest rival:
| Player | Team | Nationality | Matches Played | Distance Covered (KM) |
| James Milner | Liverpool | England | 8 | 99.906 |
| Andrew Surman | Bournemouth | England | 8 | 96.191 |
| Matt Ritchie | Bournemouth | Scotland | 8 | 95.415 |
| Aaron Ramsey | Arsenal | Wales | 8 | 93.565 |
| Gareth Barry | Everton | England | 8 | 91.901 |
The former Man City man runs further than any player in the Liverpool squad
Compared to Andrew Surman, his nearest ‘rival’, in terms of distance covered overall all season Milner has covered almost 4km more – A remarkable feat for a player that has started (and ordinarily finished) every game.
But it’s when you compare Milner to the rest of the Liverpool squad that you see where he might stand out:
| Match Date | Team | Opposition | Player | Distance Covered (KM) |
| 12/09/2015 | Liverpool | Manchester United | James Milner | 12.901 |
| 20/09/2015 | Liverpool | Norwich City | James Milner | 12.708 |
| 26/09/2015 | Liverpool | Aston Villa | James Milner | 12.574 |
| 04/10/2015 | Liverpool | Everton | James Milner | 12.574 |
| 29/08/2015 | Liverpool | West Ham United | James Milner | 12.544 |
| 24/08/2015 | Liverpool | Arsenal | James Milner | 12.404 |
| 17/08/2015 | Liverpool | Bournemouth | James Milner | 12.147 |
| 09/08/2015 | Liverpool | Stoke City | James Milner | 12.051 |
| 17/08/2015 | Liverpool | Bournemouth | Adam Lallana | 11.697 |
| 20/09/2015 | Liverpool | Norwich City | Philippe Coutinho | 11.374 |
Lallana has run Milner close this season but the 29 year old is still the man to beat
Being the only player in the Liverpool squad to run more than 12km this season (and regularly), Milner already contributes 10% of the reported 120km per match that Klopp asks his players to hit collectively. A number of his team mates are going to have to seriously step up in order to match that total.
Of course, it’s not all just about running far and working hard but thankfully Milner isn’t short of a bit of talent or technique, as evidenced by his role for Man City during their successes in recent years.
All things considered, James Milner may not be the best player in the world but he seems like a player hand-made to implement Klopp’s style on the pitch.
Data courtesy of the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, the Official Player Rating Index of the Barclays Premier League.
