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With Daniel Sturridge having just signed a brand new contract with Liverpool, and rumours continuing to swirl about Raheem Sterling's inevitable next extension, securing the future services of current first team members seems to be on Ian Ayre's lengthy To Do list at the moment. Evidently he is also keeping an equivalent To Don't list, as Glen Johnson's contract suddenly doesn't seem to be terribly high on the list of priorities.
"[It's] very quiet," Johnson said on the top of contract negotiations. "I am just concentrating week by week and not thinking about it. Of course I want to stay but, like I say, I worry about this week, this week, and then next week, next week. That is how I live my life."
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Johnson has felt uncertain about his Liverpool future since at least March, but still rejected the club's opening offer of a one year extension on his current £120k/week contract in June. Certainty in Johnson's case meant an extension of at least two years, but unless the player and the club can come to an agreement — and the silence between the parties suggests this is unlikely at the moment — Johnson will be allowed to leave on a free transfer to the club of his choice.
He was linked with Queens Park Rangers earlier this year, but the move never materialized and the Guardian reports that he could leave this summer for a non-EPL club by signing a pre-contract in January. Juventus are already apparently on the prowl for his services, if you're inclined to believe the latest rumours.
Johnson's injury this season hasn't helped his situation much, keeping him out of the lineup and not giving him an opportunity to prove his quality to the manager or those who hold the purse strings. Johnson frequently failed to impress pre-injury, though, and the arrival of Javier Manquillo on loan has been positive so far, although there is still lots of opportunity for growth in the Spaniard's game.
It's an awkward position for the Englishman and his hopes of eventually returning to the English national team's set up, a feat that gets significantly harder if he were indeed to move to Italy. For now, though, the player must concentrate on getting fit and returning to featuring regularly for Liverpool before he can even begin to think of getting picked by Roy Hodgson.
