Glen Johnson accepts that his spell at Liverpool could well come to a close when his contract expires at the end of the current season.
The 30-year-old has been plying his trade in the red half of Merseyside since joining from Portsmouth in 2009, for a fee in the region of £17million. He has gone on to make 149 Premier League appearances for the Anfield club, and scored their final penalty in a shootout to secure a League Cup success over Cardiff City in the 2011/12 campaign to end a six-year trophy drought.
However, the former West Ham United and Chelsea defender, who has 54 caps for England, is out of contract during the coming summer. Although he continues to be regularly involved for Brendan Rodgers’ side – he has made 10 appearances this term – there is a huge question mark over his future, and he admits there is every chance he will be lining up for another club next season.
“I have enjoyed the majority of the six years; I’ve had some good times and some bad times, but if I haven’t got a contract then I can’t stay,” said Johnson. “Of course it plays on your mind but that is when you have to be professional and try to do a job for your team. I want to play for a club that wants me – I am not going to go crawling to anybody. The club know where I am and they know the situation.
“There were minor talks at the end of last season but nothing I could accept or reject. I don’t really worry about things I can’t control. All I can do is try to keep doing my job every weekend and whatever will unfold will unfold. It is not my business to talk to other clubs at the moment. I want to play my football, keep winning for Liverpool and I want to respect my contract, and that is what I am willing to do.”
Johnson scored his first Liverpool goal for almost two years on Saturday afternoon to beat Stoke City, and in doing so bring an end to a sequence of four matches without a win of which three have been defeats. They remain, however, in the bottom half of the table, yet they are just five points off fourth position which, considering last season’s second-place finish, has to be their minimum target.
Should Liverpool offer Johnson a new contract, or bid him farewell? Let us know what you think about the situation by joining in with the discussion below.
