Adam Lallana arrived at Anfield with a massive media circus surrounding him after his £25 million move from Southampton in the summer. He could not have asked for a worse start when he suffered a knee injury that ruled him out for the start of the season. The injury was a massive blow to Liverpool, because this was a key time to allow the 26 year old to familiarise himself with the team and our playing style.
But since he has returned from injury he has already shown signs of settling into our style of play, and has been a very impressive performer over the last few weeks. For many he was the forgotten signing because of his injury, and the excitement surround the likes of Balotelli and Markovic. But an average start to their careers at Anfield have turned the spotlight onto Lallana. and he is starting to shine.
He is clearly very technically gifted and has two magical feet that he regularly uses to weave his way through defences and he finally got his reward on Saturday against West Brom. The way he linked up with MOTM Jordan Henderson was absolutely top class, he span away from the defenders and played a one-two with his compatriot, and then rifled it into the far corner with his left foot. The sort of goal you would expect to see from a player that cost what he did. Henderson commented on the progress Lallana was making in an interview with the Daily Mirror.
“Adam has been brilliant for a number of weeks now,” said Henderson. “He is getting his fitness back from that long injury spell he had out. He will be a big player for us this season so hopefully he will keep doing that.
“He gets us on the front foot well. You can fizz it into him and he will always take his touch forward, gets in behind their midfield and drives us on, which is very important.
Brendan Rodgers himself has been delighted with the progress of Adam Lallana and was delighted that he managed to get himself a goal.
Rodgers said: “It was a wonderful goal. I thought he was very, very good today and his intensity and work rate in the team was exceptional. He showed his quality.
“You saw the supporters’ reaction to him, I think they really appreciate what he is trying to give the team.
“I’m delighted for him. He’s a wonderful, technically-gifted player and works very, very hard. He scored a wonderful goal, which is what we needed.”
The performances of Lallana are something that Liverpool fans hope will continue to grow and improve over the coming weeks. As he goes away for the international break he knows competition is about to get fierce with Joe Allen, Emre Can and Daniel Sturridge all coming back from injury soon. Keep up the form or be dropped is the message to this squad.