At 33-years-old, Steven Gerrard has already began to weigh up his England future. He’s made 109 appearances for The Three Lions, but the upcoming World Cup might well represent his last appearances for his country. Check out these quotes courtesy of The BBC:
“I’m not going to leave anyone hanging,” said Gerrard. “I won’t stay around if I’m not wanted. It does depend on how the World Cup goes, how I perform, how the team performs. Am I still going to be wanted after the World Cup?”
I’m sure Liverpool fans will have been overjoyed to hear this. This means that as Stevie G’s career winds down, his sole focus will be on The Reds. He won’t have any other energy-sapping distractions to deal with.
But it’s also a sign that he’s getting on in years. He’s put plenty of miles on the clock (he has made 666 appearances for The Reds – uh oh!) and it’s not clear how much fuel he’s got left in his engine. Whilst we’d all like to see him motor on, he’s going to come to a dead stop one of these days.
This begs the question: how will Brendan Rodgers go about replacing him in the long-term? Will he trust in the likes of Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho, or will he look to bring somebody else in?
The Reds have been linked pretty strongly to Southampton’s superstar midfielder, Adam Lallana over the last month or so. Unfortunately, The Metro claims that Brendan Rodgers is balking at The Saints’ £25m asking price.
That’s like complaining about the price of caviar. If you want to eat fancy, you better be prepared to pay the price. Likewise, if you want to attract the best players to your football club, you’ll need to splash the cash.
Adam Lallana has proven his credentials. He’s scored 10 goals this season and has impressed with his technique (sometime’s it’s hard to believe he’s English!), passing ability and passion. He’s The Saints best player and if The Reds don’t snap him up, somebody else will.
This would be a real shame. Lallana is one of the few young players out there with the ability to replace somebody who has been as influential as Steven Gerrard. It would be foolish to let this opportunity drift by.
What’s your take? Is Adam Lallana a good long-term replacement for Steven Gerrard? Should The Reds spend £25m on him?
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The first 4 words of this article gave me doubts of any reasoned thoughts, and it the same rehashed thoughts “Journos” have been saying about Stevie for the past 3 summers. it seems that once a player hits 30 they’ve had it no matter what they do. Yes at 34, YES 34 would have been good if the author had got his age right to start with, is in the later years of his career, but the change to his game doesn’t mean it’s over.