Adam Lallana signed a contract extension yesterday which will see him stay at Liverpool for the peak years of his career. He’s 28, but has secured a three year contract on tidy wages of £110k/week, with an option to extend the deal by 12 months.
This term, he’s been one of Liverpool’s best players, contributing seven goals and seven assists apiece in the Premier League. He has endured somewhat of a barren patch, however, but with 13 games left of the campaign, we’re backing him to find his early season form – especially now everyone is back from the mid-season break in La Manga and fully refreshed.
Interestingly, in an interview for the official club website, the Englishman took time to thank Brendan Rodgers – the manager who signed him from Southampton. Lallana never maximised his potential under the Northern Irishman and it’s taken Jurgen Klopp to get the best out of him, but the midfielder has made time to mention both:
“Well firstly, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Brendan Rodgers for having the faith to sign me in the first place. I’m extending my contract today – but I will always be grateful for the opportunity he gave me to come to this club in the first place. As for the gaffer, I’m not sure there’s anything new I can say on him that hasn’t been said already by most, if not all, of our team. I heard Phil Coutinho’s comments after he signed his new contract and what he said about the manager echoed what we all think; he’s world-class, he’s a winner and we trust him completely. The manager is a special talent and we are lucky to have him here and it’s great he’s committed for the long-term as well. But I think the most important word with our manager is ‘trust’. We trust him and in turn he places a lot of trust in us – and hopefully we reward that on the pitch for him.”
With Sadio Mane, Coutinho and Roberto Firmino fit, Lallana will hopefully play in central midfield throughout the remaining 13 games of our season. From this position he’s been very effective for Liverpool, but is less dynamic as part of the front-three.