OPINION
Tottenham can go to the next level by signing Adam Lallana this summer.
The playmaker has been rarely used by Liverpool over the last two seasons due to a series of niggling injuries and increased competition for places in the title chasers’ team.
But, the 30-year-old has demonstrated in his fleeting appearances that he is still inventive enough to help take Mauricio Pochettino’s side to the next level.
His velvet touch, ability to operate in tight spaces and pull off things most players wouldn’t even think of make him a special player.
Crucially, he is one Pochettino knows very well after managing him at former club Southampton before his £25million transfer to Liverpool in 2014, the same summer the Argentine joined Spurs.
In an interview with Joe last week, the Tottenham manager drooled over the attacking midfielder and used the example of the player’s time at Southampton as how individual players all need to be managed differently.
“When we arrived there, we watched all the analysis videos of him and it was ‘phwoar! What a player!’. But why was he always injured? We needed to do some assessments,” Pochettino.
“One day, we called him in and said ‘ok, we’ve looked at why you’re having all these issues and we have created a special plan for you to follow. If you trust and you do it, this is how we see your role for us. He was so determined to follow it, he was so professional. Adam was our best player that season.”
Lallana has made just three Premier League starts this season and struggled to find a way back into the side despite Jurgen Klopp claiming a month ago he is now in top condition and would have a big role to play in the title run-in.
His future will be a major issue in the summer as his current contract, signed in 2017, expires in the summer of 2020 (source: BBC Sport).
Soon available, strikingly good and loved by Pochettino. This is a deal that could make sense for all parties.
Tottenham could be about to lose their creator-in-chief Christian Eriksen, and signing Lallana could soothe some of the pain of his exit.