There has been a lot of speculation recently about the future of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and his relationship with manager Brendan Rodgers.
Gerrard was outstanding in Liverpool’s 3-1 at Leicester City on Tuesday, but when asked after the game about his future, the Liverpool captain uncharacteristically punted, declining to be drawn on whether he will sign a new contract to secure his Anfield future.
“I’ll decide when I’m ready,” Gerrard told BT Sport when asked about the negotiations. “There’s nothing to say on the contract at the moment. When there is — the fans have known me long enough — I’ll come out and I’ll say what I need to say.”
Early this week Rodgers had said that Liverpool had offered their skipper a new deal, but Gerrard’s unwillingness to talk about it, is a good indication that he is not happy with the offer.
So what happens now? I still think that Gerrard will sign a new deal that will keep him at Anfield for another year, but in four weeks he can officially start to talk to other clubs. It’s a risky game that Liverpool’s American owners are playing as they are expecting Gerrard to take the hometown discount as sign a new one-year deal. But as we have seen with their handling of signings for the Boston Red Sox, very few players will take a lower offer, if someone else is offering them significantly more money.