Adam Lallana Receives Surprise England Call Up
The midfielder was among four Liverpool players selected for the upcoming international friendlies
As Red fans, it’s easy to forget just how scintillating the original Fab Four were prior to last year’s brief version of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio ManĂ© and one other guy—and no, we’re not talking about the Beatles. Rather it was the combination of the Senegalese winger, the two Brazilians and one Adam Lallana who absolutely tore up the league over the course of the 2016-17 campaign.
Lallana had his best season as a professional that year, with the all-action, twinkle-toed midfielder playing a hybrid #8/#10 role that earned universal acclaim to the tune of eight goals and seven assists in 31 league appearances. The Englishman also dazzled on the international stage, scoring his first international three goals for England and prompting Three Lions manager, Gareth Southgate to deem him more important to the squad than even eventual World Cup Golden Boot winner, Harry Kane.
It was a surprise, however, that the ex-Southampton man was named to the England team for the upcoming international friendlies, given his fortunes since that dazzling season. 2017-18 saw the 30-year-old suffer a raft of injuries and hasty recoveries on the way to a largely toothless 11 appearances, causing him to miss the World Cup semifinal run and drop his stock for club and country considerably.
Nevertheless, Southgate still believes Lallana can recapture his previous form and play an important role in the Euro 2020 tournament.
”Adam is a player that has had a big contribution for us,” the England manager said of the player he refers to as the indispensable ‘link’ in the side.
”When you look at the squad I’ve named, all of that squad should be available for two years’ time.
”We don’t want to waste time looking at new things. We have to continue to progress but we’re working off a solid foundation this time.
”Adam is definitely a player that falls in the category of, if he had been fit, he would have definitely come with us in the summer.”
— England (@England) August 30, 2018
Lallana will join fellow Reds, Trent-Alexander Arnold, Joe Gomez—also absent from the World Cup side due to injury—and vice-captain Jordan Henderson when they link up with the rest of the England squad in a few days’ time.
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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