Adam Lallana – a player transformed

If Adam Lallana were a car he’d have the distinctive red bodywork of a Ferrari and the engine of a Volkswagen: sleek and streamlined and designed to motor yet reliable and hard-working to boot. After all, his only breakdown to date was the minor groin injury he suffered while on England duty back in October.

Once regarded as something of a luxury player, Lallana is now the Premier League’s most industrious and productive performer without taking anything away from the flair side of his game. Indeed, only back in September last year BBC pundit Jermaine Jenas was praising his stand out performances for the Reds.

Looking at his performances over the festive period, the 28-year-old must have skipped the excesses of Christmas. Either that or he was hell-bent on running off too much turkey and chocolate.

The England ace covered 16.2 miles in games against Manchester City and Sunderland either side of the New Year, a distance that belies the fatigue normally suffered by players at this time of year.

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The midfielder’s running stats have been impressive all year and the former Southampton man took that to another level in the games mentioned. After covering eight miles in Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Manchester City in the late kick-off at Anfield on New Year’s Eve, he ran even further at Sunderland, clocking up a league-best 8.22 miles in the 2-2 draw.

Unlike some, his energy isn’t wasted either; his runs have purpose and for that reason he has been able to help create as many goals as he has scored.

His seven goals and seven assists before the end of 2016 saw him top the charts for midfield performances throughout Europe, in the first half of the season, and he has already surpassed the number of assists in any of his four previous Premier League seasons.

Scoring and creating goals, receiving and giving passes and even making the odd tackle, Lallana has become the complete package and the player that many believe new England boss Gareth Southgate should build his side around. For a player who was ignominiously dropped for England’s fateful last 16 tie against Iceland at Euro 2016 that is some turnaround.

Punters in particular will be pleased to see the surge in his current form. New Year promotions such as this Betdaq free bet at Enhanced Bets have entered the market at a key time when bettors will be backing strong attacking teams. And with odds of 5/1 for the Liverpool outright, Lallana may yet prove to be the betting slip talisman of 2017.

Under Klopp’s astute management, his Liverpool critics have been silenced, too. He enjoys the same close relationship with the German as he did with his former Southampton boss, Mauricio Pochettino.
Klopp considers Liverpool’s No.20 to be one of the Reds’ most important players and the confidence his manager has in him has clearly rubbed off on a player that did not show his best under Brendan Rogers.

Lallana has a long way before he is even talked about in the same breath as a Kenny Dalglish or a Steven Gerrard but it is easy to see why Paris St Germain are interested in tempting him away from Anfield despite the £40million price tag on his head … and the miles he has on the clock.

 

ARIS