Despite a misconception that he is boring, Milner’s cutting sense of humour means that he is at the centre of everything in dressing rooms and fondly remembered at his former clubs

It is mid-July at the plush Four Seasons Hotel in Palo Alto, California. Liverpool have just finished an evening team meeting on their summer tour when James Milner, his hopes of a quick game of darts in the neighbouring games room dashed, is asked to remain behind by Jürgen Klopp.

Milner pulls up a chair alongside his manager and, while his team-mates whisper their various conspiracies as they stream out of the room, he waits for the tête-à-tête to begin.

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“Obviously it was pre-season, the manager has not been there too long . . . there were a million and one things in my head,” recalls Milner, his eyes widening. “You think about everything and, ‘Does he not want me?’ was one. And then he