Football News: Adam Lallana: Liverpool's season personified

Image from: express.co.uk

Adam Lallana has had arguably his best season for a few years. Yet ultimately, he has nothing to show for it. He has worked hard, looked brilliant in flashes, but come out the end of the season with nothing to show for all his industry and more Cruyff turns than a Soccer AM Showboating compilation.

Liverpool's biggest problem this season in terms of attacking has been attacks breaking down due to one poor pass (Milner - we're looking at you!), an over ambitious shot (Don't try and hide behind Enrique, we can still see you Coutinho), somebody over running the ball and taking a poor touch (sorry Firmino, great debut season though), or somebody doing 3 Cruyff turns before releasing the ball!

So it is no surprise to see Klopp looking for reinforcements in the attacking midfield areas. Lallana and Milner, despite their excellent relationships with Klopp, are the players who are most under threat. For a team with title aspirations, hard running just isn't enough.

Failing to score more than one goal against Manchester City in a cup final, and then smashing 3 past the same team less than a week later epitomises Liverpools attack. The star players in Firmino and Coutinho are both young and inconsistent, whilst Lallana and Milner only play well when the team is playing well. So if the two young Brazilians don't show up, Liverpool don't show up. We just have an isolated Sturridge up front sulking, and Milner and Lallana running a combined 30km to absolutely no avail.

So who are the main candidates to replace them?

1. Marko Grujic
Rather obviously, Grujic is a player who will be looking at the Liverpool squad already and seeing opportunity. He is coming into the club off the back of a title winning campaign in Serbia, and can see an attack in dire need of consistency. So what kind of player is Grujic?

Pro's:
- Powerful runs into the box
- Vicious shots from distance
- Dominant in the air
- Composed on the ball
- Vision to pick out a killer pass

Con's:
- Sometimes over runs it
- Lacks defensive awareness
- Allows himself to get sucked in to tackles, often conceding free kicks
- Over ambitious at times

He is a very young player still at 20 years of age, and is most comparable to players like Dele Alli and Ross Barkley in the Premier League. Basically, he is best behind a striker where he can do damage to the opposition with his physical prowess and technique.

2. Piotr Zielinski
A player who has flirted with Klopp, Liverpool and Coutinho for weeks now. He is clearly a bit of a muppet going off his rather naïve interviews which have got Liverpool and Klopp into trouble for tapping up (although Klopp has to take a portion of blame here).

Pro's:
- Sublime first touch
- Finds space effortlessly
- Makes a lot of key passes
- Presses high up the pitch
- Can tap up Lewandowski during the Euros (joking!)

Con's:
- Lacks a slight burst of pace
- Weak in the tackle which makes his pressing ineffective sometimes
- Doesn't score or create enough goals for an attacking midfielder

At 21 years old he still has time to improve, but for me Zielinski is not a good enough player to put up with his interviews and very public angling to get what he wants. He is very much like a young Fabregas as a player though. There is no doubt he has a good future in the game, but do Liverpool need another media nuisance after Suarez?

3. Mahmoud Dahoud
Dahoud has had an excellent season breaking into the Borussia Monchengladbach team alongside Granit Xhaka to form one of the best partnerships in the Bundesliga. Xhaka provides the ferocious steel, which gives Dahoud the license to roam forward and do what he does best.

Pro's:
- Very good at bringing the ball forward
- Opens the game up for his team
- Excellent range of passing
- Reads the game very well
- Creates a lot of chances and goals

Con's:
- Not the strongest tackler
- Weak in the air
- Trigger happy at times when the defence stand off him

At just 20 years old, Dahoud has the world at his feet. It would be a massive steal if Liverpool could convince him to join Klopp's revolution. There aren't any similar players in the Premier League right now, but although it seems a lazy comparison, he is very much in the mould of Gundogan. His ability to carry the ball or pick out passes of all kinds is a very rare style of player in football.

4. Mario Gotze
Gotze has had a tough few years. Injuries have been very unkind to him, he has had to live up to a massive amount of hype, and his form has ben up and down as with all young players. It is easy to forget that the multiple Bundesliga title winning attacker, and World Cup winning goalscorer is still only 23. Like Zielinski though, he is an absolute nightmare off the pitch. You could sew his mouth shut and he'd still manage to say something stupid.

Pro's:
- Technical ability on par with anyone in the game
- Instinctive finisher in and around the box
- Brilliant vision
- Versatile enough to play any forward position

Con's:
- Injury prone
- Lazy since his move to Bayern
- Reportedly a poor trainer and lives a celebrity lifestyle
- Inconsistent

He is a similar player and also at a very similar level to Coutinho. He has more natural ability than Coutinho, yet he suffers the same inconsistency for different reasons. Whilst Coutinho has inexplicable dips in form that you get with young players, Gotze's are very much of his own doing. He is at risk of fading into obscurity and becoming another one of footballs nearly men. For the price he'd command, he is not the best option. He is a born winner but he's doing his best to throw away his talent.

5. Rafa Silva
Silva had a great season for Braga this year in Portugal. Exceeding double figures from out wide is impressive in any league. If he was too sign for Liverpool, it isn't difficult to see where he fits in. As a wide player with genuine pace and a goal scoring threat, he is something the squad is lacking. Whilst he is not an out and out winger, he does offer genuine width.

Pro's:
- Can glide past multiple players in quick succession
- A natural finisher
- Has the ability to slide a pass in behind when coming inside
- Good set piece delivery

Con's:
- Doesn't provide crosses from open play
- Can be bullied by more physical players
- Doesn't press from the front

Silva at 22 years old represents great value for money as he is just coming in to his prime and will fill a role in our squad that is lacking depth. He plays very much like Hazard, hugging the wide areas to offer a wide out ball, before running with purpose at the opposition causing panic and prompting sloppy fouls or silly mistakes. He would not be the first player from Portugal to crash and burn in a more competitive league though.

6. Georges-Kevin Nkoudou
Nkoudou is a lightning fast wide player. The closest to an actual winger that the club has scouted in fact. He constantly looks to drive at the fullback, waiting for them to over commit before skipping around them. He offers a genuine threat in behind with his directness.

Pro's:
- Pace, pace, pace
- Good with either foot
- Makes clever runs to give his team mates options

Con's:
- Lacks end product
- Crossing is aimless
- Not the best first touch
- Erratic in front of goal at best

It is clear that Nkoudou has potential, but right now that is all he has. He will command a large fee, and right now it is just too much of a gamble to take him out of his comfort zone and expect him to adapt. A future option maybe, but not an immediate improvement on the likes of Ojo and Ibe.

7. Dennis Praet
Praet is a player who showed promise of epic proportions a couple of seasons ago. Yet he has somehow gone from one of the hottest prospects in Europe, to an almost forgotten man. He has just failed to build on his initial promise. Much like Ibe in that respect actually.

Pro's:
- Works space for himself well with quick feet and agility
- Can use either foot
- Very versatile
- Very technically gifted

Con's:
- Too versatile (still impossible to tell his best position)
- Poor composure in front of goal
- Lacking pace to get away from his marker
- Wants too long on the ball

No, we haven't come full circle. I was still describing Praet, not Lallana. However that sums up exactly why it is too early to move for Praet. He is struggling to impress in the Belgian League right now, and needs to rediscover that spark that once made him one of the most scouted young players in Europe. At Liverpool, he is not guaranteed the game time he needs to step up his game. With rumoured interest from Southampton, he would be better advised to go down that avenue where he is more likely to get chances in the first team, or simply wait another season where he is.

Conlclusion
So who are the better options? Obviously Grujic has already been confirmed, but it is highly likely we will add another player or two off of this list. I personally would look to Dahoud and Silva as I believe they both offer something our current squad is lacking. That is a player who can instigate attacks quickly in Dahoud, and a player to provide a wide threat in Silva.

I'm interested to hear the opinions of others though so get involved!

Written by Adam Jones May 23 2016 20:57:09