"I indicated my wish" - Jurgen Klopp has instructed Liverpool to extend midfielder's contract

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed he wants James Milner to sign a new contract at Liverpool. The German manager said the Englishman is still a vital part of his plans and urged the club to offer him a new deal.

Milner's contract at Liverpool expires at the end of the season, and reports suggest the club are in talks with him over a new deal. The 36-year-old wants to stay at the club but has not spoken about a new deal yet.

In his pre-match notes, Klopp insisted that he wants to keep Milner in his squad, but the club are yet to make a decision. The manager hinted that there was a possibility of the midfielder not staying at the club and wrote:

"It's no secret that James is in the last year of his current deal – and again – I emphasise 'current'. I spoke recently about 'talks' taking place to extend his stay with us and I thought it might make sense to use this platform to clarify that as I've seen some misleading reporting around it. By talks I mean I indicated my wish that James stays with us beyond this season, in a playing capacity. James will keep playing, he has told me this.

"The level he is at, physically, technically and in terms of personal desire and hunger for more, means he should play on for as long as that lasts. I hope it will be here and that is what I have told those at the club who take on these tasks. It's not fair or right to then jump to the conclusion that an offer has been made, because I don't think that's fair on James. I know I don't normally go into this much detail on matters such as this, but given how conscientious James is when it comes to not putting private things into the public domain, I wanted to make the actual position clear."

James Milner at Liverpool

James Milner has been a vital part of Liverpool's first team ever since he joined the club on a free transfer in 2015.

The midfielder arrived at Anfield after his contract at Manchester City expired and Klopp has used him regularly.