SAINTS FANS SHOULD BE PROUD OF LALLANA
says Liverpool boss JURGEN KLOPP
JURGEN KLOPP has hailed Adam Lallana for leaving his comfort zone to become a Liverpool hero.
Lallana returns to his old stomping ground of Southampton tonight in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final.
The England midfielder is in the form of his life for both club and country, in his third season at Anfield, after a £25m switch which still upsets some Saints fans.
As usual, Lallana can expect some stick from them tonight.
But Liverpool boss Klopp reckons Saints supporters should spend more time admiring than abusing him.
“I’m not here long enough to know why Southampton fans react as they do, but he is a boy from the region, that’s how it is,” said Klopp.
“With his quality I can imagine that everybody at Southampton thought he could be the player for the next 10-15 years to build a team around. But I’m really happy he decided differently, he wanted to see something else and wanted another challenge and experience.
“He left his comfort zone. That is a difficult decision for both sides, but I would hope that at some point they can be proud again that a boy from their region is rated so highly in English football.
“Probably one day when they sit at home and think back they will realise it’s nice that he made this development.”
Lallana is actually from St Albans in Hertfordshire. Having spent a few years on Bournemouth’s books, at the age of 12 he joined their near neighbours, eventually becoming a pivotal figure in Saints’ rise from League One to the Premier League. The 28-year-old had already made his England debut before he joined Liverpool, but it was not until he was at Anfield that he became a regular in the starting XI. It was far from plain sailing for Lallana, though, as he struggled in his debut season for the Reds under then-boss Brendan Rodgers. There were glimpses of his potential in a Liverpool side that had gone from title challengers to a team that was struggling to make Europe. Questions were even asked about Lallana’s fitness as he only played 90 minutes in six of his first 27 Premier League appearances for his new club. This Christmas, though, the midfielder clocked up more miles against Manchester City and then Sunderland than any other player in the Premier League.
Seven goals and seven assists so far this term, plus three more goals for England, mean he is also well on course to make this his most prolific top-flight season in front of goal.
His improvement started towards the end of Rodgers’ reign in 2015, but there is no doubt Klopp’s tactics and management have taken him to a new level.
Klopp added: “In the first year here, I heard that nobody was really happy about his performances and especially himself probably, from what I know of him.”
You would struggle to find anyone at Anfield who is not happy with him now, though.