Klopp can put faith in Liverpool duo after dismissing midfielder transfer talk

James Milner is proving to be the Benjamin Button of the Premier League.

He may now be 36 but like a fine wine, the utility man just seems to get better with age. Even with two decades of pre-seasons under his belt, he is still showing the way for youngsters and other players at Anfield.

He famously beats everyone else in Liverpool's pre-season lactate tests, which takes the lactic acid level of players after they've run an increasing distance, with players with levels too high being knocked out along the way. He is also still putting in an unquestionable dedication when it comes to his performances.

Granted, a bounce match against Crystal Palace who were playing their first game of pre-season is not exactly the type of rigorous test that will determine Liverpool's fate in the next ten months of the upcoming season. But Milner stole the show in the first half of the 2-0 friendly win in Singapore.

Even though he was deployed at right-back (not his favoured position), he put in a solid performance and also played his part in the game's most intricate passages.

He might have failed to pull off an extravagant attempt at skill in the opposition box shortly before his withdrawal but by then he had already done enough to impress Klopp and the Liverpool fans watching around the world.

And Milner wasn't the only midfielder in his thirties who caught the eye in the tune-up game. Skipper Jordan Henderson opened the scoring with a delightful curled effort. Some have questioned how much longer Henderson, 32, will be a first choice in Klopp's engine room but here he showed leadership and tenacity in abundance.

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Both players lasted 45 minutes as the now customary raft of changes occurred at the break, but both left a mark on this contest and show no signs of their ages catching up with them.

When asked this week about the possibility of adding to his midfield, boss Jurgen Klopp said: "We can go through it. Where do you want to start?

"So, Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago, Milner, Keita, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Fabio Carvalho, Oxlade-Chamberlain. Now you tell me what kind of player are we missing? One who is offensive, 1.95m and arrives into the box to head balls in? OK, apart from that!

"How I said, if nobody wants to leave - and no player came to me with that request yet and I don't expect it really, to be honest - there is no need for a new midfielder. We cannot just add on midfielders.

"We respect the contracts with our boys as well, that means as long as we signed them they get all our support - in training, between the sessions, during the games and between the games. That is the situation we have; really, you can count our midfielders."

Klopp has frequently resisted the urge to dip into the transfer market to boost his squad, instead putting faith in those already at the club to prove their worth. With the likes of Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones and Naby Keita all primed to vie for opportunities this season, the Liverpool boss has more than a few options at his disposal to join Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho in the engine room.

All of those are likely to play significant parts in the campaign ahead, but it is the experienced heads of Henderson and Milner that Klopp knows he can always rely on.