Klopp chop a Bright call
ADAM LALLANA admits he felt rejected when Jurgen Klopp told him he was no longer needed at Liverpool – but knows it was the right decision after revitalising his career at Brighton.
Midfielder Lallana is one of the only players to experience the entire Klopp journey at Anfield – from the day the German arrived in October 2016 to winning the Premier League title in 2020.
But by the time the famous trophy was lifted the ex-England man, who joined Liverpool from Southampton for £25million in July 2014, had known he was leaving for months.
Lallana said: “I went in and asked the question because I wanted to know what my future looked like.
“I had half an idea what the answer would be but I just felt it would be better to know, to be honest and to have a frank conversation.
“We had that much respect for each other.
“It is a weird feeling when you get told that you are kind of not wanted any more. There is an initial feeling of rejection and I think that’s normal.
“But after a couple of days, when I realised it was going to be my last season at Liverpool, I made sure that I treated every day, every training session, like it was my last.”
Not surprisingly, Lallana says it wasn’t easy to let go of his Liverpool career after such a rollercoaster ride in which he also won the Champions League, European Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup – but suffered a series of injuries along the way.
Now however, he has a new lease of life at the age of 32 at Brighton, where he is due to face West Brom tomorrow. Lallana formed a special bond with Klopp but now he’s forging a similar relationship with Albion manager Graham Potter (left) and sees similarities in the way Brighton are planning ahead. He added: “Graham has been backed with a long contract which is always a great sign because it means there’s going to be some stability at the club.
“They are trusting the process and he’s got a group of players who trust the process as well.
“These things don’t happen overnight and that was similar at Liverpool.”