Glen Johnson on his Liverpool future

Glen Johnson made his return from injury against Newcastle in Saturday’s 2-2 draw. The England right back was sadly missed by Liverpool having picked up an ankle injury against Manchester United early on in the season. Now that Johnson is back, there is a lot more natural balance in the Liverpool side down the right as Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling who had been filling in for Johnson had struggled in his position.

Having watched Johnson play against Newcastle, you could see how better Liverpool were with him in the side. Going forward, Liverpool will have much more width and attacking options due to Johnson’s presence couple with his ability to cut in from the right and fire shots in with his left foot.

Johnson has 18-months left on his current Liverpool deal and there had been suggestions that the defender would be offered a new deal but would have to take a pay cut.

However, speaking to The Times, Johnson said:

“This is where I want to be. It’s where I’m happy and it’s what I’m fighting to do at the moment. I’m fighting to get a shirt on again.

“It will resolve itself. I’ve got 18 months left and no-one’s mentioned anything further to me, so my job is to warrant a new contract.”

“All I can do is concentrate on working hard and doing well on the pitch. That’s served me well over the last five years and I’m sure it will serve me well in the future.”

Glen Johnson is 29-years old and arguably has three or four more seasons of top flight football left in him. It would be a good idea for Liverpool to offer him a new contract and hopefully he can end his career at the club. His experience would be valuable to the younger full backs at Liverpool such as Kelly, Wisdom and Flanagan.

But from a Liverpool perspective, a new quality right back signing would do the club good. Barcelona’s Martin Montoya has been linked with a move to the Reds and that would be a good right back to come in and challenge Johnson for a starting role in the team and eventually take over from him.