Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed the club have offered Steven Gerrard a new contract and says the long-serving Englishman “deserves” time mulling over the new offer.
Gerrard, 34, will run out of contract at the end of the season. The midfielder had, last month, disclosed he may look elsewhere if negotiations with the Anfield club tarry.
“Firstly in terms of the club the latest is that Steven Gerrard and his representatives have been offered a contract here and at this moment in time that’s where it’s at,” Rodgers said in his press conference ahead the visit to Leicester City on Tuesday.
Stephen Gerrard Benched in a Champions League Game at the Santiago Bernebeu. Image: AFP/Getty.
“It certainly won’t be money. I’ve spoken to him enough times at length and that won’t be the case. Between now and the end of the season he deserves the opportunity to think.”
The northern Irish boss named the ‘Reds’ skipper as a substitute in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Stoke City on Saturday- 16 years to the day he made his Liverpool debut as a substitute in a 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers in 1998.
Asked if there is a misunderstanding between himself and the veteran midfielder, who joined the Merseyside club’s academy as an eight-year-old, Rodgers replied: “No. 150 per cent no.
“If there are two words that describe our relationship it would be honest and respect. He is arguably the best player to ever play in the Premier League.
“It’s not so much about the number of games he plays now, it’s about the level of the game and that is something we will look at.”
Rodgers hinted Liverpool may be forced to re-assess Gerrard’s role, with the possibility of playing him in a different position.
Gerrard operated as a defensive midfielder last season. Rodgers stressed that changes in the club’s attacking options- with Jordan Hederson Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling now favoured to play behind a lone striker, Paul Lambert or Mario Balotelli- prompted what many described as an anniversary day cameo by the skipper.
“With the players we had up front, his quality could exploit that,” explained Rodgers. “The dynamic up front has changed so I have to think of a restructure so we look at a different type of midfielder to come in.”
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