Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has heaped praise on utility-star James Milner, hailing him as a 'perfect professional' who is among the top five player he has ever worked with.
The German manager's comments come after a season whereMilner has reinvented himself as a left-back, slotting into the position instead of Reds' outcast Alberto Moreno.
As quoted in theMirror, Klopp said:"I have nothing bad to say about any of my players, but he is certainly in the top five.
I have been very lucky to surround myself with great professionals, but Milly is 100 per cent in the top five. Yes, he is the perfect professional.�
Klopp went on to discuss Milner's reputation off the field, which has seen a 'boring James Milner' parody account made on Twitter, something that couldn't be further than the truth, according to the Anfield boss.
Klopp on Milner: "He is a very funny person - a proper English professional. Perhaps it's about having same haircut since he was at Leeds!"
I heard this once. But it could not be further from the truth,� Klopp added. He is a proper English professional.
With the humour and “ what do you say? “ big mouth! He is a very funny person. I have no idea where it came from. But perhaps it is about having the same haircut since he was at Leeds!�
Despite being signed as a central midfielder from Manchester City, Milner has played 14 games out of 16 from left-back so far this season, something that Klopp has described as a 'nice football story'.
He added:He has already been part of nice football stories.
When I heard that Liverpool had signed him, I thought it was really good and that was at a time I had no idea that I would be part of his football development.
I know Milly and he wants to play always. Maybe that was not the case at City and it made sense to leave.
Klopp on Milner: "I have been very lucky to surround myself with great professionals, but he's 100% in the top 5 -the perfect professional."
From the outside, it looks a difficult transition “ to come from a wide position or central midfield to specialist role at full-back.
But James is football-smart, has good instincts and is quick, so he is good.
It says more about his quality to make that switch. It would not have been the smartest decision if he said he didn't want to do it.
People say he doesn't look like a left-back because most of the time they are defensive-minded, but a lot of time he is running into spaces looking to attack.
Klopp calling Milner one of the top5 players he's worked with when he's worked with Lewandowski, Reus, Auba, Hummels & Joe Allen. Big praise
We didn't want to make him a left-back, we only want someone who can have an influence on the game from this position. That is why we thought it might be a good idea.
He has had to deal with situations like this in a long career already. He was open and I was not surprised by that.
I am not 100 percent sure what his future holds in this position, but he is comfortable and, with the ball especially, he looks assured.
For sure he has five or six really good years.�