He has won two league titles, an FA Cup, and a League Cup at City though, and has shown what it means to be a true team player, even at the expense of his own evolution. It's admirable in some ways, but I doubt Milner envisioned being a squad player when he originally signed with Man City. His last season with Villa, at the age of 24, he was finally coming into his own:
| g | a | ch | npg90 | gc90 | cc90 | ap90 |
| 7 | 12 | 69 | 0.11 | 0.54 | 1.96 | 0.34 |
| pass% | lb% | tb% | cr% | sdrp90 | sacc% | shot% |
| 75.6 | 58.2 | 35.7 | 32.6 | 0.71 | 34.8 | 10.6 |
| intp90 | clrp90 | drbp90 | bs90 | tp90 | adw90 | adw% |
| 1.8 | 0.91 | 0.97 | 0.4 | 2.64 | 0.43 | 28.8 |
| ccv | TTI90 | gsp90 | gap90 | gop90 | tgop | gopd |
| 17.4 | 16.9 | 1.39 | 1.05 | 0.34 | 0.34 | 0 |
First, the bad, his 16.9 true turnover index per 90 minutes played is unimpressive to say the least. He has improved since joining City, reaching a career best of 10.1 in 2011-12 and a 11.4 rate last season, that's on par with Henderson (9.7), Gerrard (10.9), Coutinho (11), and Sterling (12.1). Also, for a player who is characterized as 'strong' when it comes to aerial duels, his won per 90 of 0.43 at a 28.8% success rate is well below the league average of 1.46 at 50%.
His 12 assists that season was third best in the league and his chance created value of 17.4 was well above the league average of 9.2. While normally a goals on pitch difference of 0 is nothing to brag about, in his case it shows that he WAS the team. Despite losing Gareth Barry the summer prior, Villa still improved their point totals and goal difference from the previous season, and the season after Milner joined City, the Villans plummeted to 9th place, a -24 goal difference, and accumulated 16 less points.
For Liverpool to consider a transfer for the 28-year-old, a what-have-you-done-lately approach is what matters. Here are his stats from last season where he made only 12 starts, 19 sub-ins, for a total of 1375 minutes:
| g | a | ch | npg90 | gc90 | cc90 | ap90 | ||
| 1 | 3 | 29 | 0.07 | 0.26 | 1.9 | 0.2 | ||
| pass% | bp% | lb% | tb% | cr% | sdrbp90 | sdrb% | sacc% | shot% |
| 84 | 46.4 | 60 | 66.6 | 19.1 | 1.18 | 43.9 | 24 | 4 |
| intp90 | clrp90 | drbp90 | bs90 | tp90 | tack% | adw90 | adw% | |
| 0.65 | 1.44 | 1.11 | 0.06 | 2.03 | 50.9 | 1.05 | 35.6 | |
| ccv | TTI90 | gsp90 | gap90 | gop90 | tgop | gopd | ||
| 10.3 | 11.4 | 2.22 | 1.24 | 0.98 | 1.71 | -0.73 |
A regression to say the least, especially considering the quality of his teammates. His passing has improved, as has his turnover rate, but not much else, and his goals on pitch difference is alarming. For a midfielder known for playing solid defence, it certainly doesn't look like he's a much of a factor in preventing opponents from scoring.
Milner could have been a legend at Villa, but instead he rots away on the City bench with opportunities becoming more scarce as younger, more creative options surround him and his club have all the funds in the world to go after more if needs be. The problem is he'll find himself in a similar situation if Liverpool acquire him. His versatility does play into it a little since he can cover for Glen Johnson at RB, but he won't be much of an improvement. It really comes down to how cheap City will let him go, anything more than £8m has to be a deal-breaker.
