Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has expressed his desire to keep both Glen Johnson and Lucas at Anfield despite the duo being heavily linked with a move to the Italian Serie A. Johnson is out of contract at the end of the season, while Lucas is reportedly the main transfer target for clubs like Inter Milan in this January transfer window.
Johnson is reportedly unhappy at the contractual terms offered to him. Liverpool reportedly offered him only half of the current £ 100,000 per week wages. At just 30 years of age, Johnson will be more than entitled to think that he will be able to earn a similar figure at least for the next few years.
Lucas was a marginal figure at the club in the last couple of years due to a succession of injuries and poor form. He has now featured heavily in the last few weeks and the defensive solidarity provided by the Brazilian has allowed Liverpool to build their form.
Johnson has featured in 11 league matches this season, but he is no longer a regular first choice. Lucas also has featured in a similar number of matches, but his presence in the team has been much more frequent over the last few months. After being rested for the FA Cup match against Bolton, Lucas is expected to be recalled for the League Cup semi-final against Chelsea.
“We can’t have three or four leaving next season. The intention will be to keep everyone, partly because of the mix in the group.Steven [Gerrard] will obviously be a loss, when you are losing someone of that calibre of man and player it would be a loss to any club, but you move on.For the younger players to develop their potential they are going to need that seniority around them. Glen Johnson we want to keep, Lucas we want to keep,” said Rodgers.