Why Adam Lallana's All-Action England Form Bodes Well for His Liverpool Future

England's pitiful UEFA European Championship run came to an abrupt end as they crashed to a 2-1 defeat to Iceland in the last 16, with an inquest into the Three Lions' demise prompted by Roy Hodgson's resignation shortly after—the former Liverpool manager, like many of his players, came away from France with his reputation damaged.

Securing just one win out of their four games at the tournament—a last-gasp victory over eventual semi-finalists Wales—Hodgson's side highlighted familiar flaws in their makeup, which the Football Association will now look to address as they appoint a successor.

Few of Hodgson's 23-man squad can return to their clubs buoyed by their form at Euro 2016, but the all-action displays of Adam Lallana will have given Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp food for thought.

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Klopp is remoulding his squad ahead of his first full campaign in charge on Merseyside, and after an ultimately fruitless 2015/16 campaign that saw Liverpool reach two finals in the Capital One Cup and the UEFA Europa League, the German will be keen to go one better in 2016/17.

Lallana made three appearances for England at Euro 2016 and emerged as one of the bright lights in Hodgson's confused system, performing a similar role to that which made him invaluable to Klopp last season.

With his position under threat at Anfield following the arrival of £30 million Senegalese forward Sadio Mane from Southampton, however, Lallana faces a fight for his starting role this summer.

But with a clutch of impressive displays for England, Lallana underlined his credentials once again—and this may bode well for the 28-year-old's future under Klopp at Liverpool. 

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Speaking to Fox Sports' Keith Costigan at the beginning of May, Klopp hailed Lallana as one of the most underrated and crucially important players in his Liverpool squad, as the former Portland Timbers left-back revealed on Twitter:

Klopp's words succinctly underlined Lallana's role in his Reds attacking line. While the midfielder is far from the most glamorous of forwards—that status is reserved for Brazilian duo Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino—he is hugely efficient in terms of leading a pressing system.

Lallana's performance in March's 3-0 win at home to Manchester City, for example, highlighted his defensive strength, making seven successful tackles—the joint most of any player, along with Emre Can.

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It is this tireless work ethic that has seen him adopt the stance as Klopp's "hunter," and likely inspired by his displays for the Reds throughout 2016, Hodgson stationed Lallana in a similar role for England at Euro 2016.

Against Russia in England's opening game of the tournament, Lallana made more tackles and interceptions combined (three) than any of Hodgson's other attackers, and he could be seen roaring his side on whenever they lost the ball—as with Liverpool, he was the first line of England's press.

This clearly endeared Lallana to Hodgson, whose admiration for Mauricio Pochettino's high-intensity system at Tottenham Hotspur led him to field Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Danny Rose and Kyle Walker in regular roles in France, and the Liverpool midfielder kept his place in the starting lineup against Wales and Slovakia.

Lallana averaged 2.4 successful tackles per 90 minutes at Euro 2016, more than any of Hodgson's other regular starters, while his average of 1.2 interceptions per 90 was more than any of England's other attackers, and it was this quality that saw Peter Beardsley laud him in interview with 888sport:

"

Lallana would be the one for me who has been outstanding. He is similar to the way I played with how he moves the ball and creates goals. I really like his energy and his enthusiasm in getting the ball back. Dier has done well but overall Lallana has been our best player and I see a lot of myself in him.

"

Beardsley was speaking before England's knockout clash with Iceland, and the former Liverpool midfielder will have been disappointed to see Lallana left out of Hodgson's starting lineup in Nice, with Raheem Sterling fielded in his place.

England were overrun by a hardworking Iceland, and the absence of Lallana as the Three Lions' "hunter" was certainly a contributing factor.

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But Hodgson's move to field Sterling in his place may have been indicative of a longstanding concern of Liverpool supporters in Lallana's lack of a tangible end product—something that another former England midfielder, Ray Wilkins, highlighted as a flaw in his game in conversation with Sky Sports in June:

"

Adam looks wonderful on the ball, I've got to say.

He has two lovely feet and works extremely hard from a defensive aspect as well as going forward but at this level, he is not quite creating or scoring as much as he should.

He gets in good positions but he hasn't scored and it's vitally important we score goals.

"

Lallana missed two clear-cut opportunities to score against Russia, and he failed to either get on the scoresheet or register an assist in any of his three appearances in France.

Furthermore, of England's attacking options at Euro 2016, only Sterling (0.9) and Jamie Vardy (1.1) averaged fewer key passes per 90 minutes than Lallana (1.6), compounding Wilkins' concern and highlighting a familiar situation when compared to two of his Liverpool colleagues in 2015/16:

Liverpool Attacking Midfielders, Premier League 2015/16

• Roberto Firmino: 10 goals, seven assists, 2.2 key passes
• Philippe Coutinho: Eight goals, five assists, 2.2 key passes
• Adam Lallana: Four goals, six assists, 2.1 key passes

(All statistics via WhoScored.com, and key passes averaged per 90 minutes).

While Lallana was similarly effective in terms of creating chances compared to Coutinho and Firmino, their efforts in front of goal were significantly better—particularly Firmino, who also proved himself equally as fluent in Klopp's pressing system.

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This is likely one of the factors behind Klopp's move to sign Mane this summer, with the 24-year-old having scored 25 goals in 75 games during his time with Southampton, as well as laying on 14 assists; in 90 games for the Reds since his £25 million move from the south coast, Lallana has scored 13 and assisted 12.

Therefore, Lallana is arguably left relying on his defensive qualities to ensure a long-term future under Klopp at Liverpool—something Bleacher Report's Karl Matchett explored for This is Anfield at the start of July:

"

While both can play as No. 10s or in-from-out support acts, Mane is very much of the ‘forward’ variety while Lallana is inherently a ‘midfielder’, and there’s a notable difference in mentality between the two.

Buildup play is one difference, but Lallana has another function for the team and it is here where the biggest trade-off will come: Jurgen Klopp has noted Lallana as the pressure trigger for Liverpool, the initial movement between defending the Reds’ own half and stepping up to initiate contact and force the opposition into a decision.

[...]

Mane has not previously shown enormous intent to do this at Southampton, though naturally that could be under instruction.

"

Mane averaged 1.9 successful tackles and 1.2 interceptions per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season, compared to Lallana's 2.5 successful tackles and 0.9 interceptions per 90, with the Englishman marginally more efficient than his new competitor for the starting role on the right flank.

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

The decision to sign Mane for such a lofty fee was an intriguing one from Klopp, given the established roles of Coutinho and Firmino on the left and in the centre of his attacking unit respectively, along with his clear regard for Lallana as the "first line of [his] press."

But it would be safe to assume that Mane has been added to boost Liverpool's goalscoring form in the final third, and that leaves Lallana wanting.

Having reaffirmed his status as one of England's most intelligent defensive players at Euro 2016, however, the all-action No. 20 proved his worth to the Reds in the long term, and with Klopp no doubt watching on as he outshone the likes of Sterling, Kane and Vardy in France, Lallana can still hope for a regular role in 2016/17.

Statistics via Transfermarkt.co.uk and WhoScored.com.

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