De Zerbi claims Milner can take Brighton to ‘higher level’ as signing of ex-Liverpool man is announced

News Desk 14 Jun 2023 3:28 PM

Brighton have announced the signing of England international James Milner from Premier League rivals Liverpool on a free transfer.

Milner has agreed a one-year contract at the Amex Stadium and this deal includes the option for a further 12 months.

Head coach Roberto De Zerbi told his club’s website: “I’m very glad to welcome James to Brighton.

“He’s an excellent addition for us and I’m sure he will help to bring us to an even higher level.”

Milner, who won 61 international caps between 2009 and 2016, began his career with Leeds and has also played for Newcastle, Aston Villa and Manchester City.

The 37-year-old won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup during eight years at Anfield.

He will join Brighton following the expiration of his Reds contract on June 30 and add experience to De Zerbi’s squad ahead of the club’s maiden Europa League campaign.

Seagulls technical director David Weir said: “His experience speaks for itself with the amount of games he has played and the trophies he has won throughout a decorated career.

“These games include European competition, which will be of huge value to us as we embark on our first season in Europe.”

Milner is currently third in the list of all-time Premier League appearances with 619, behind Gareth Barry (652) and Ryan Giggs (632).

The veteran midfielder, who can also operate at full-back, is Brighton’s second signing of the summer following the club-record arrival of Brazilian forward Joao Pedro from Watford.

Former Liverpool man Adam Lallana – who will reunite with Milner at Brighton – thinks “characters are building everywhere” at the Premier League club.

“I look at our dressing room now and characters are building everywhere,” Lallana said.

“James has been in the Premier League for a long time, he defines the word professionalism and if we can use the strengths of players like him and others of that ilk and help the group overall it’s only going to help. And he’s older than me so he can have the headlines about being the oldest player in the group!

“I think it has gone under the radar how many senior players we’ve got. [Lewis] Dunk, [Pascal] Gross, [Danny] Welbeck, [Jason] Steele are all in their thirties and it helps the dressing room. We help provide the environment for the hidden gems to express themselves, that’s the model and James will help us with that.

“If you’ve got a team with 8-9 good senior lads like we have that’s pivotal to success. I look at the Southampton team when they won back to back promotions and to the Liverpool team I played in, there was always a core of leaders.”

Brighton James Milner