Jan Molby sat and controlled Liverpool’s midfield in the 1980s and is renowned for his languid style and technical ability.
Few compare to the legendary Dane in terms of his attributes, but in Adam Lallana – Liverpool have a player who is similarly unique stylistically.
The kind of player you cannot replicate on a video-game.
There’s not many comparisons you can make with our Englishman, who’s notched seven goals and registered seven assists in the Premier League this term, but Molby has likened him to Andres Iniesta – the best creative midfielder of the century – bar perhaps Zinedine Zidane.
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“Of all the midfield players we have, Adam Lallana is definitely different,” he told the club’s official website.
“He has, without any shadow of a doubt, turned out to be the key midfield player.
“What Adam Lallana is, and maybe some people won’t see this, is he’s a playmaker.
“He’s not a playmaker who sits back and dictates play; he’s a bit like Iniesta, he’s that 15 yards further forward where he dictates the direction and the tempo of the play.
“He’s been very impressive, he’s been very, very important – so important that I make him our key player.
“Now, when Adam Lallana is on the ball and he manipulates himself into a situation where he can do something, you’re almost on the edge of your seat, you think something is going to happen.”
Molby’s comments are important as they perhaps explain our recent form, in some ways.
Lallana’s been asked to play in the front-three due to Sadio Mane’s AFCON absence, and as a team – we’ve been far less effective without him centrally.
As part of a midfield three, the 28-year-old’s controlled games and injected spark and magic into them, but on the right or left, he’s more predictable and his skills are not maximised.
We hope to see him alongside Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum against Swansea on Saturday, where we back him to add to his excellent goal/assist record this term.