Southampton’s greatest ever player Matt Le Tissier has praised Liverpool playmaker Adam Lallana, referring to our midfielder as England’s best player.
The 28-year-old is expected to start for Gareth Southgate’s England on Friday in the crucial World Cup Qualifier with Scotland and perhaps against Spain next week in a less important friendly.
(Our primary concern is that he comes through unscathed, of course.)
“I ask myself who England’s best player is and on current form I’d probably say Adam Lallana,” Le Tissier said on Sky Sports. “He tends to be pushed out wide though and I’d like to see him in the number 10 role. He’s happy to go both ways so playing him central gives him so many options.”
Le Tissier is right on both counts. On current form, there’s nobody better in an England shirt, with Lallana a jaw-droppingly creative force for Liverpool all season.
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Jurgen Klopp’s used him in a central role, which has definitely brought out the best in him, as his technique and two-footedness makes Lallana unpredictable.
For England though, Southgate will probably shunt him to the right – but we’d love to see him play behind a centre-forward, perhaps with Theo Walcott and Raheem Sterling either side of the ‘three’ in the 4-2-3-1 – maybe with Jordan Henderson and Jack Wilshere behind…
During the Euros, Lallana was one of the few England players who emerged with any credit, but Roy Hodgson bizarrely dropped him for the Iceland clash – arguably the most embarrassing loss in the history of the country.
We’ll see if Southgate has the bottle to leave Rooney out and deploy his country’s in-form player, Lallana in a pivotal role.