When Adam Lallana signed for Brighton from Liverpool on a free transfer in 2020, it is safe to assume that most Albion fans were not sure what to expect from a player with his track record, riddled with injuries and an inconsistent run of games at the top-level for a number of years.
Lallana was dubbed as one of the most exciting talents while at Southampton and even tore apart Brighton in the early days of the Championship, and in League One. His talent was often forgotten at Anfield, despite moments of magic, the injuries always seemed to take centre stage, and foiled his chances in the England set-up.
After six years in the North West: coming home with a shiny Premier League title, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and Club World Cup, Adam Lallana moved back down to the South Coast.
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South Coast return
His career has been relit in his return to the *better side* of the South Coast, with 70 appearances already at the club, his importance has been more recognised during the time missed through his injuries. Lallana’s class was clear to see at the beginning of his Albion career; simple touches, turns of quality, and intelligent passes – Brighton fans quickly realised that class truly is permanent.
His minutes were managed slowly at the start, and rightly so, and the ex-England international has more recently become a recognised starting figure in the Brighton and Hove Albion side. If you listened close enough, Lallana could be heard from Southampton during the 20/21 season with no fans attending the games. Adam Lallana links up the midfield well, very well. With his ever-present injury curse, being in a midfield as dynamic as Brighton’s is a massive blessing for a player like Lallana. Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister are capable of covering the distance, as is Pascal Gross, Lallana’s commanding ability and passing play allows extra fluidity for Roberto De Zerbi. Since his recent injury at Leicester, it could be argued that quality dipped slightly. This will always be a hard claim to prove, with Alexis Mac Allister having also faced a suspension since, and Moisés Caicedo’s more obvious scandal at the end of the January transfer window.
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Roberto De Zerbi on Lallana...
VAVEL spoke to Brighton manager, Roberto De Zerbi, who agreed with the notion of Lallana’s importance in the starting 11 before his unfortunate injury. The Italian head coach mentioned the importance of the veteran. He said:
“He will be a great coach in the future. Adam is very important, [as is] Pascal Gross, Welbeck, Veltman... because I forgot Veltman in the past to speak about him, but he is one of the most important players in this squad. Dunk [too], they are very important for our young players, for the coach, for the club. They are important for the result because they are still very important players [on the pitch].”
He went on to talk about his importance in the side itself, and to the surprise, or delight of Brighton fans, he explained how Adam Lallana is the ‘glue’. De Zerbi said:
“I spoke with Andrea Maldera and Marcattilio Marcattilli and we were speaking about the importance of all players. We have a stat, which says the most important player for the team and the result, it is Adam Lallana.
When Adam Lallana plays, we have more opportunities to win the game. I didn’t need these stats to understand the importance of Lallana. It was a general stat, [he told Andy Naylor quickly]; the number of passes completed, not losing balls, all of the stats that are useful for understanding the performance of a player.”
Adam Lallana is often associated with the next upcoming coach in football, as mentioned by most current Albion players, and fans alike. A player with his experience and mental capacity to learn the game on a deeper-rooted level is an admirable attitude to have – as shared by Pascal Gross; there is no mistaking that the two of these players are some of the most influential in terms of footballing IQ. Lallana’s impact on the side is becoming universally recognised, and with an exciting coaching career ahead of him, it is just the beginning for the Albion man.