Stricken Adam must be patient

MESUT OZIL says he had to “think hard” before signing a new £350,000-a-week contract at Arsenal.

The Germany midfielder, right, had under six months left on his old deal but decided to stay on.

Ozil said: “It has been one of the most important decisions of my career, that’s why I had to think hard and talk with everyone important to me. In the end I let my heart decide.” JURGEN KLOPP says he is not willing to risk further injury to Adam Lallana.

He will wait until he is convinced Lallana is over the muscle problems which have left his season in tatters.

The attacking midfielder missed three months at the start of this campaign with a thigh problem and has had two false starts since. “We have tried to be sensible with it, to do the right thing, but it hasn’t worked twice now,” said Klopp.

“It was a really serious injury in the summer. Because of Adam’s quality and attitude in training it looks immediately like we can put him in, but physically he’s not fit.”

Lallana suffered a major muscle injury in his thigh in a pre-season friendly against Atletico Madrid.

Although he returned in November against Chelsea, he has not completed 90 minutes since and suffered a setback following Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat against Swansea 11 days ago.

LALLANA: Injury

PAUL LAMBERT wants Badou Ndiaye to be Stoke City’s devil in midfield. The Senegal international, 27, joined for £14million on deadline day after storming out of a training camp at Galatasaray demanding the move to Stoke. “If he has some devilment in him it’s on the pitch and you don’t curtail it,” said Lambert.

BRISTOL ROVERS yesterday completed a double swoop for former Millwall captain Tony Craig and ex-Portsmouth winger Kyle Bennett on free transfers.