‘I knew earlier than the top of final season that I used to be coming again right here – the deal was agreed no matter what league the membership was in’ Adam Lallana confirms his thoughts was made up a couple of Southampton return properly prematurely with the membership’s promotion a bonus
Adam Lallana is a former England worldwide now surrounded by potential England stars at Southampton. Taylor Harwood-Bellis, for one, is the ball-playing centre-back who was 4 when Lallana made his first Southampton debut.
He captained England’s under-21s to European glory final summer time after agreeing to hitch Southampton on mortgage from Manchester Metropolis with the choice of a everlasting £20m switch from Manchester Metropolis. It was an choice the Saints exercised this summer time and Harwood-Bellis signed a four-year contract on the south coast in the summertime.
He has been joined at Southampton by a participant he has typically partnered in central defence for England Below-21s: Nathan Wooden, a £3m summer time recruit from Swansea, the place the 22-year-old performed below Martin beforehand.
St Mary’s has been a hotbed for English expertise for many years
Elsewhere on the membership there’s Ronnie Edwards, who performed for England U20s final time period and even at 27, Adam Armstrong hasn’t given up on his worldwide dream having made 4 appearances for the England U-20 workforce who received the World Cup in 2017 – England’s first win in a worldwide match since 1966.
The expertise pool is deep on the membership, and with Lallana’s personal son taking part in for his or her academy, the conveyor belt is more likely to proceed producing for membership and nation.
Youth meets expertise in the case of Southamptons 2024/25 squad (Picture credit score: Getty Pictures)
“I nonetheless really feel I can provide one thing on the pitch and I may also help the younger gamers,” Lallana informed FourFourTwo in an unique interview. “I’ve been talking to a couple of the youthful gamers. I’ve been on this league for the final 12 seasons, so I do know what’s required to remain within the Premier League; what habits it’s good to see day in, time out on the coaching pitch, and the appliance you want.”
Lallana is simply two years youthful than his new boss, Russell Martin, for whom he was completely satisfied to decide to, even earlier than Southampton knew which division they’d be taking part in on this season.
“I knew earlier than the top of final season that I used to be coming again right here – the deal was agreed no matter what league the membership was in. Nevertheless it was an enormous bonus for me when the lads bought promoted.”
He’d been away for ten seasons, by way of Liverpool and Brighton. His £25m exit to Liverpool in the summertime of 2014 got here after he had simply captained Southampton to eighth place below Pochettino. The midfielder was the second of six gamers to make the change from St Mary’s to Anfield over the course of 4 years, following Rickie Lambert and previous Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne, Sadio Mané and Virgil van Dijk.
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However it is a new period. “I’ve cherished my first few weeks again on the membership. While you get to my age, you are taking it yr by yr. I don’t know at this level how lengthy I’ll play on for – we’ll see what occurs in direction of the top of the season. I simply need to get pleasure from this yr as a lot as doable”.
He speaks extremely of Russell Martin too. A former Scotland worldwide – truly born and raised on the south coast, in Brighton – who has impressed many onlookers in a fledgling managerial profession that noticed him implement a pretty model of passing soccer at MK Dons and Swansea, then convert that into promotion
in his first season at Southampton, by way of a club-record, 25-match unbeaten run.
“He’s bought nice concepts, he’s so enthusiastic, and he’s forward-thinking,” Lallana says.
“There are going to be robust moments, the place we would have misplaced two or three on the bounce, once we want them to remain calm, keep behind the workforce and keep behind the supervisor. It’s not going to be simple. However we’ve bought good gamers and an unbelievable younger coach. I’m quietly assured.”
