When Adam Lallana made the big-money switch from Southampton to Liverpool last summer, the midfielder was lauded by Reds manager Brendan Rodgers as a “wonderful footballer,” but after a first-season struggle on Merseyside, how can he recapture his Saints form for Liverpool next term?

Rodgers spoke to reporters, including Dominic King of the Mail, during Liverpool’s pre-season tour of North America back in July:

I spoke to enough people about him and have seen enough of him, and know enough people who had seen him and played with him to know he would be a great signing for us. He can score goals and create goals. He is a wonderful footballer. I have been impressed by his mentality and character.”

However, it hasn’t quite gone to plan for the 27-year-old, who has made just 25 Premier League appearances so far this season.

At Southampton, Lallana was the ace in the pack, so how can he prove to be the same for Liverpool in 2015/16?

 

At Southampton

Lallana joined the Reds in a BBC Sport-reported £25 million deal, after 14 years with Southampton amassing 265 appearances and 60 goals.

Following the Saints’ dramatic rise to the upper echelons of the Premier League, Lallana was joined by then-Southampton left-back Luke Shaw, as well as Liverpool’s Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard in the PFA’s Team of the Year—the midfielder was one of the Premier League’s under-the-radar stars last season.

In a Southampton shirt, this seemed to announce his ability to step up and perform in a top-four-challenging side.

For the Saints in 2013/14, Lallana scored nine goals and made five assists, averaging 1.9 key passes and 1.8 successful dribbles per league game. This compared well to Liverpool’s creative attacking midfielders for that season:

	Games	Goals	Assists	Dribbles	Key Passes	Passing Accuracy (%)
Adam Lallana	38	9	5	1.8	1.9	84.6
Philippe Coutinho	33	5	7	1.8	2	80.6
Raheem Sterling	33	9	5	2.8	1.6	81.7
Jordan Henderson	35	4	7	0.5	1.8	87.1
Victor Moses	19	1	0	0.8	0.5	86.8

(All statistics from the Premier League and courtesy of WhoScored.com. Dribbles, key passes and passing accuracy averaged per league game.)

The Lallana that Liverpool were expecting represented a similar proposition to the outstanding Philippe Coutinho—a chief playmaker with guile and vision—and a significant upgrade on vastly underperforming Chelsea loanee Victor Moses in the Reds’ forward line.

Averaging 1.5 tackles and one interception per league game, too, he was a more effective front-line defensive option than most of Rodgers’ current options.

A hard-working, creative talent with Premier League distinction, Lallana seemed like a no-brainer in the summer transfer market.

But this season hasn’t quite gone that way for the England man.

 

For Liverpool, 2014/15 

With Rodgers flitting between systems this season, with 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-2-1 formations all making an appearance at times in a lengthy, multi-competition stretch for the Reds, Lallana has struggled to truly hold down a role in the Liverpool squad.

This has seen him perform as a No. 10, a left-winger, a right-winger, an advanced central midfielder and at both left and right wing-back.

As with many of Rodgers’ players this season, this has stymied any consistency in form.

But more pertinently, Lallana has been hampered with injuries throughout 2014/15, including the very start of the season. According to Transfermarkt.com, Lallana has suffered three separate injuries this term, missing a total of 13 games—in reality, he has missed more due to continued struggles with fitness.

When played, Lallana is regularly substituted midway through the second half, and his output has suffered due to this, particularly when compared to his Reds team-mates:

	Games	Goals	Assists	Dribbles	Key Passes	Passing Accuracy
Adam Lallana	25	4	3	1.1	1.3	82.3
Philippe Coutinho	33	5	5	3.1	1.6	80.9
Raheem Sterling	33	7	7	2.9	2.1	80.8
Jordan Henderson	35	6	9	0.3	1.9	82.2
Jordon Ibe	10	0	0	2.1	0.4	87.8
Lazar Markovic	19	2	1	1.1	1.1	81.5

(All statistics from the Premier League and courtesy of WhoScored.com. Dribbles, key passes and passing accuracy averaged per league game.)

He has contributed comparatively well in terms of goals and assists, but his overall attacking game has dropped significantly from last season, with Coutinho and Sterling rising—Lallana’s form is more in line with fellow struggling newcomer Lazar Markovic.

Lallana’s defensive game has also suffered, as while his rate of tackles per game has risen to 1.7, he now averages just 0.4 interceptions per league game. He has become much more restricted.

As the season draws to a close, Lallana has expressed a disappointment in his first season on Merseyside, as reported by David Maddock of the Mirror.

“There’s definitely more for me to give next season,” he said. “I’ll be looking to be out on the pitch more consistently because it’s been difficult for me to get 100 percent into my rhythm this year, from being on the pitch and then off it.”

So the 27-year-old clearly feels next season is his season to shine at Liverpool.

But how can he ensure he does just that? 

 

How Can Lallana Prove His Worth to Liverpool Next Season?

For Lallana to truly slot into an effective Liverpool first team under Rodgers next term, the most obvious criteria would be to avoid injuries—easier said than done, but a full, largely uninterrupted season would likely see him regain the confidence he had at Southampton.

There has been a sharpness lacking in Lallana’s game throughout this season for Liverpool, with the midfielder often taking too long in possession, which completely jars with the fast-paced attacking dynamic that Rodgers is seemingly trying to foster.

Lallana was the subject of Bleacher Report writer Karl Matchett’s ire for this very aspect of his game during March’s 0-0 FA Cup sixth-round draw with Blackburn Rovers:

A full, injury-free pre-season with the Reds could aid this, and Lallana would hopefully assimilate more closely within Rodgers’ ideals.

Furthermore, this sharpness must also be translated directly into goals and assists.

Liverpool have struggled this season due to their overall inability to convert chances, with not only the injury struggles of Sturridge and the poor form of Rickie Lambert, Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini in the centre-forward roles contributing largely, but also a lack of support in these areas from midfield.

Maddock reported Rodgers’ interest in Inter Milan midfielder Mateo Kovacic this week, for the Mirror, along with the caveat that “[Rodgers] plans to recruit both a defensive-minded midfielder and a goalscoring one” this summer to offset the departure of Steven Gerrard.

In theory, Lallana can be that goalscoring midfielder, having registered the second-most goals scored per 90 mins in the league this season for the club (0.22), behind Gerrard (0.35). He just needs to maintain fitness. 

Lallana can also play a big part in filling the leadership role that Gerrard will vacate when he joins MLS franchise LA Galaxy this summer, if Rodgers is to be believed, with his recent praise of the 27-year-old reported by Ian Doyle of the Liverpool Echo.

“He’s fantastic in the changing room,” Rodgers declared. “He is responsible on the pitch, too. He has good leadership qualities.”

It would not be within the realms of fantasy to suggest Lallana could adopt an official leadership role next season—while captain of Southampton, he would likely assume the role of vice-captain for Liverpool, with Jordan Henderson becoming club captain—and by exerting these leadership qualities he can further prove his worth. 

Not just off the pitch, this must be produced on-field, too.

“You see it with Adam straight away he presses for the ball when he does not have it,” was one of the most important points of Rodgers’ pre-season praise for Lallana, and a paramount factor to Rodgers’ system at Liverpool.

Continue to press, and improve his defensive contribution in the forward line, and Lallana can help lead Rodgers’ side.

When it boils down to it, regaining full fitness is key to Lallana proving his worth at Liverpool next season.

If he does so, he clearly believes he can return to the highly confident, goalscoring, heavy-pressing Lallana that shone so brightly at St Mary’s last season.

 

Statistics via WhoScored.com and Squawka.com.

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