The complete guide to our new No.20
For everything you need to know about Liverpool's new midfielder, Adam Lallana, take a look through our complete guide to the 26-year-old England international.
Wiki says...
Adam David Lallana, born May 10, 1988, is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Liverpool and the England national team. Born in St Albans, Lallana began his career with Southampton as a youth player in 2000, signing professional terms in 2006, and he became the club captain in 2012.
In his scrapbook...
Lallana was included in the Professional Footballers' Association League One Team of the Year for 2010-11, Championship Team of the Year 2011-12 and the Premier League Team of the Year at the end of last season. The midfielder was also shortlisted for the PFA Players' Player of the Year in April 2014; however, his new Liverpool teammate Luis Suarez won the prize, with Steven Gerrard in second place.
Pic...
The numbers game...
Lallana made 250 appearances for Southampton between August 2006 and May 2014, hitting 58 goals in total for the Saints. Last season, his performances earned the 26-year-old a place at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, after he scored nine goals and provided six assists in the Premier League. The attacking midfielder currently has nine international caps.
The stats show...
A closer look at Lallana's statistics, courtesy of Opta, compiled for the 2013-14 campaign, gives an insight into the type of player who walked through the doors at Melwood today. The captain featured in every Premier League game for the Saints, starting in 37. He hit 1,250 successful passes, recording an overall completion rate of 84.6 per cent. Lallana made 198 recoveries during that time - and only Gerrard, with 232, made more than that out of the entire Liverpool squad.
What they say...
Liverpool-born Rickie Lambert:"His desire to win is inspiring, and that's why we all follow him. He is a great player and captain. I've been saying for years I look up to Adam, even though I'm older."
Former boss Mauricio Pochettino: "You can see that he is one of the most talented players in the English game. He is the type of player that is hard to find in any other English team. It is clear to anyone the talent that he has got. He is a very talented player, a very special player."
Did you know?
Lallana, as a product of Southampton's prodigious youth system, played with an array of familiar faces throughout his earlier years at the Saints. The attacker worked alongside Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott, who both departed before turning 18, for Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal respectively. Teammates Andrew Surman, Nathan Dyer and Leon Best all went on to ply their trade at the highest level of English football. And then, in 2011, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who joined Lallana on the plane to Brazil this summer, swapped St Mary's for the Emirates.