An analysis of whether Adam Lallana adds any value to Liverpool

When Jürgen Klopp was brought in by Liverpool, this author was one of those who thought that Adam Lallana was unlikely to fit into the German’s gegenpressing style. Not particularly pacy, rarely completing 90 minutes and, at 27, entering his prime as a footballer so he would be perhaps too old to learn new tricks.

However as Klopp has slowly set about altering this Liverpool squad in his image, with encouraging performances rather than mostly encouraging results thus far, Lallana has been one of his favorites. He’s in the top 10 for Liverpool in both appearances and minutes played, and as hamstrings have twanged up and down Merseyside, he has probably ingratiated himself with Klopp for keeping his fitness.

But is he just playing because there is nobody else, or does he truly add value to a side like Klopp’s? The German is obviously fond of him, an early image of Lallana collapsing into his managers arms after his opening game against Tottenham went viral as proof of how Klopp would get Liverpool players to run through brick walls for the team, but Lallana is an easy footballer to like. He rarely seems to lose possession and has an assortment of deft touches and fancy tricks in the locker. Aesthetically he’s perfect, but he hasn’t scored a Premier League goal yet and only notched up three assists, so there is a worrying lack of end product.

SEE MORE: Adam Lallana: Liverpool ‘was never going to just change overnight’ under Jurgen Klopp.

When Lallana first signed for Liverpool, an excellent post about it was written on Liverpool blog Oh You Beauty. The author did a comparison of Lallana with Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho to see what the midfielder’s strengths were.

The short answer is – he’s strong at everything, but not strong enough at anything. He can pass accurately, dribble, tackle and intercept. He’s intelligent without the ball, has intelligent movement to create some shots for himself, knows how to find a pass in the final third. But he doesn’t lead at anything. No metric really stands out.

Looking at the above table, it’s obvious that Lallana hasn’t really changed. This is despite moving to a better team, with better teammates, and growing more experienced as a player.

For an offensive player, he’s good off the ball, always making smart runs into good positions, but from those positions usually nothing happens. He’s taken 16 shots all season, he creates about a chance a game, and he doesn’t play defense splitting passes. He’s key in Klopp’s best side this season that involves Roberto Firmino as a striker and midfielders breaking beyond the defensive line. Occasionally Lallana does something breath-taking to remind you that he’s a talented player, a flick or turn out of a tight position. But Klopp prefers matches played at a high tempo. Players taking time on the ball to bamboozle defenders slow down the offense, and in this style of play Lallana seems wasted.

The problem this season is that there are not enough bodies to replace him. While Lallana isn’t excellent, he does a serviceable job in three of the six forward positions Klopp plays with. Short of trusting in a young Joao Teixeira or overusing Jordon Ibe, there isn’t much Klopp can do. Having a jack of all trades like Lallana as a squad player is something all sides would like, but for a side with Champions League ambitions, he can’t be starting every week.