He has helped the Aston Villa finish sixth place in the Premier League and reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Because of his latest achieved title, Milner is now part of the 23-man England squad for the World Cup in South Africa, under Fabio Capello.
An Aston Villa spokesman said that indeed they have received an offer from Manchester City for James Milner but it was firmly rejected.
“We plan to sit down with James and his representative after the World Cup to agree a new long-term deal and this remains our position, added the spokesman”Milner is still under contract and halfway through since he signed in for four years stay for only £12m in 2008 to play for Aston Villa.
Randy Lerner, the owner of Aston Villa, said they would do everything there is to do for James Milner to stay in their club.
However, James Milner said he wouldn’t commit to Aston Villa. He said he would have to put his future on clubs on hold because he will have to focus on the World Cup.
In his own words, Milner said “Do I expect to be at Villa next season? I don’t know. I’ve worked as hard as I can and concentrated on club football while the season has been on.
Milner says he will have to put his 100% focus on helping England achieve its glory in South Africa.
James Milner says, “The World Cup is the biggest competition you can play in. The whole world is watching. As a player, you want to play against the best players, test yourself, and play in the best tournaments, whether its the Champions League or World Cups.”“Every player is desperate to get on the plane to South Africa and prove themselves on the biggest stage,” he adds.
Big-spending Manchester City have finally landed midfielder James Milner from Aston Villa supposedly completing a very expensive squad make-over.The two clubs finally agreed a deal for the England international: a £26m player-plus-cash exchange with City’s Stephen Ireland being the £8m makeweight going the other way. Ireland, an attacking midfielder as well, will receive around half of the £2m he demanded, for his part in the transfer.
Both players have already agreed personal terms and an official announcement will be made soon, after both have passed routine medical examinations.
The signing of Milner comes after a three-month pursuit, which also indirectly led to Martin O’Neill’s resignation as Villa’s manager because of the lack of money provided by club owner Randy Lerner to sign new players.
City manager Roberto Mancini was quoted as saying about Milner: “I think that Milner is a good player, an English player which is important. I think that Milner can play in different positions.”
Milner, Villa’s player of the year, is likely to be the final arrival of another summer of extensive incomings and outgoings at City, with Mario Balotelli, Yaya Touré, Jérôme Boateng, Aleksandar Kolarov and David Silva also being added to the squad at a total cost of £126m.
