The midfielder impressed in a friendly against Lyon, helping his side dominate possession and round off pre-season with a win
Adam Lallana is relishing relearning his trade in a new deeper role at Liverpool, and believes it is a position where he can help make a difference for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The Reds boss has spoken this pre-season about his faith in the 31-year-old’s ability to dictate possession and control the game from deep, only half-joking in making comparisons with Chelsea midfielder Jorginho .
The Italy international’s deep-lying role was key to Maurizio Sarri’s thrilling Napoli team and, while his system didn’t get the same plaudits at Chelsea , Klopp is keen to see Lallana fill in in a similar role.
“It’s nice,” Lallana told the club’s official website. “I found myself playing there a few times this pre-season and I’m happy to play anywhere. I’ve enjoyed it, obviously getting on the ball.
“There are still aspects of the game I need to improve on and I’m sure I’ll learn the more I play there. I’m delighted to get some more minutes and build my fitness.
“[The manager] has mentioned I can play there, that I’ve got the ability to play there. There’s not been any formal chat but I’m happy playing there. I see a lot of the ball and I’m the type of player that wants to be on the ball; I feel I can get us moving, get us out of tight situations and bring a different aspect to Liverpool.
“As long as I can stay fit – and I’ve been working hard on my fitness – then I think I can bring quality to this Liverpool team.”
Lallana played the first hour in this deeper role in Liverpool’s final friendly of pre-season, a 3-1 win after coming from behind against Ligue 1 side Lyon in Geneva.
Former Manchester United forward Memphis Depay opened the scoring from the spot after a foul from goalkeeper Alisson but goals from Roberto Firmino and Harry Wilson, plus a Joachim Anderson own goal, helped Liverpool sign off in style.
They will get the English domestic season underway with the Community Shield against Manchester City on August 4, and Lallana was pleased with the victory having previously gone four friendly games without a win.
“It was obviously nice to get back to winning ways,” he said. “It’s not the be-all and end-all in pre-season but it’s good to get into good habits. I thought all round everyone played a good part and it was a good runout for us.
“It was a little bit of a dodgy start but a good reaction. We’re going to go behind in games this season, I’m sure, so I thought the boys showed good character to get back into it against a good Lyon side.
“The young lads played well as well when they came on. [It was] a different format, some changes after half an hour.
“The manager said he wanted to use this game to get everyone up to scratch and give everyone the minutes they needed to have depending on what level they’re at, and I thought we coped with that really well as well.”
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