By Simon Wilkes
Former Liverpool player James Milner is hoping to stay fit enough to break Gareth Barry’s Premier League appearance record during the 2025/26 season.
The 39-year-old had an injury-plagued campaign with Brighton & Hove Albion last term and underwent knee surgery which led to a long spell on the sidelines.
However, the former England utility man returned to the team for the final-day drubbing of Tottenham and is now getting ready for his 24th-consecutive season as a top-flight player.
Former Everton midfielder Barry, who like Milner could play in a number of positions, currently leads the all-time PL appearance list on 653.
Record in sight
With Milner only 16 appearances behind Barry, the chances are high that he will overtake the former Aston Villa man’s tally in the upcoming campaign.
Brighton begin the new season with a home game against Fulham on Saturday, August 16 (3pm kick-off), and Milner said in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports: “If it’s something I get then great, but for me, to be honest, my focus is contributing on the field.
“I want to be as fit as much as I can be and on the training field around this squad of players as much as I can.
“You might be getting out of bed in the morning and you might have the odd creaky ankle and things like this, but that drive to want to do it – and it helps with the club I am at – that drive has to come from within.
“But also, you want to put a marker. You want to push those guys and they can push me and hopefully I can push them as well and obviously that’s so important.”
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‘Incredible’ Jota remembered
Like all Liverpool fans, Milner was devastated by the news of Diogo Jota’s passing in a tragic car accident with his brother.
And he added: “He was an incredible guy. Me and him had so many fun days together winding each other up.
“An amazing family man, just someone you just wanted to be around.
“He’ll be missed by everyone – a truly amazing player and even better guy.”
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League improvement anticipated
Brighton finished in eighth place last season and Milner is hoping both he and his Seagulls team-mates can steer clear of injuries this term.
He told Sky Sports: “I think you always want to improve year-on-year, so obviously improve on the points total, improve on that league position.
“I think the injuries did impact us. I don’t think it was used once as an excuse; I don’t think I have heard anyone talk about it. But if you look at the data, it was a difficult season.
“I probably contributed a lot to that, but a lot of the other boys obviously had difficulties as well.
“It probably cost us a few positions in the league.”
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