4 Liverpool players who have successfully changed their playing position under Jurgen Klopp

#2 James Milner

Milner played the entire 2016/17 season as a left-back

James Milner’s middle name is versatility but he took that to a whole new level under Jurgen Klopp.

Very few players from the Brendan Rodgers era have been able to survive the mass exodus under Klopp but Milner has not only avoided it, he has forced his way into the starting XI time and time again.

Milner left Manchester City in 2015 to join Liverpool because he wanted to play in his preferred central midfield role. He played in that role a few times under Brendan Rodgers but after Klopp took over, Milner had to play down the right-wing because of lack of options.

In 2016/17, Milner was a regular in the Liverpool starting XI. In fact, he played 36 out of the 38 league games. However, he didn’t play any of those games as a central midfielder or as a winger, he played the entire season as a left-back!

Throughout the season, Klopp used the Englishman as a right-footed left-back ahead of the left-footed Alberto Moreno.

He had his limitations in that role but he did his job well and helped Liverpool qualify for the Champions League at the end of the season. He also attempted 2,168 passes that season which was the fifth highest in the league, the most for a Liverpool player, the second highest for a defender in the league and the most for a full-back. Not bad, huh?

Milner was back to playing in midfield last season and he broke the record for most assists ever in a single Champions League campaign.