James Milner has agreed a pre-contract agreement with Liverpool and he is set to leave Manchester City on a free transfer

Transfer windows at Manchester City are usually all about arrivals rather than departures but this time the tables seem to have turned. Yes, there are no doubts that the club will make signings in this close season, and marquee ones too. But as things stand right now, the primary transfer story surrounding the club is regarding the departure of a certain important player.

Liverpool have confirmed that they have reached a pre-agreement with James Milner who will now join the club on a free transfer as soon as his contract with City ends on the last day of June. The Englishman joined Manchester City in the summer of 2010 for almost 25 million pounds and since then his graph has been on the rise. The England international matured into a reliable player who consistently put in good performances while ensuring that he does not get bossed around.

Liverpool have done well to swoop for an established professional such as Milner

In five years at the club, Milner has been something of an ever present after making 35 appearances or more in every season which is no mean feat considering the overload of talent that has been present at the Etihad. The former Villa man is of course not a star name such as the likes of David Silva or Yaya Toure, but he is one of those players who would simply get his head down and put in the hard yards without seeking much of the limelight.

The signing of Milner comes as a great coup for Liverpool who are in need of some established talent and they do not come anymore established than a man who has more than 500 Premier League appearances spread over a span of 13 years. Getting him at any rate would have been an achievement for anyone, but getting him for free has got to be a jackpot signing. As far as City are concerned though, we are definitely going to take this as a big loss.

Manuel Pellegrini and City will be looking at the Milner situation with a lot of disappointment

He was always reliable for us and we would surely have liked to have relied on him for some time more, but unfortunately for us though, the player decided that it was time for a new challenge. The reasons behind him wanting to leave though are not too hard to locate. Yes, he has appeared in 32 of City’s 38 Premier League games, but if you dig deeper, then you will find out that of these 32 appearances, only 18 have been starts.

It is therefore completely natural for a player who is at his peak to want to play more games. City tried everything they could to keep the man after reportedly offering him a 165,000 pounds a week deal to ensure that he stays on with us but Milner was having none of that as he lay more emphasis on game time rather than how much money he made. This singular point goes a long way to show how much integrity and honesty that Milner is blessed with and while Liverpool will be jumping with joy for grabbing him on a free, Manchester City will be looking at his departure with a heavy heart.