Adam Lallana Rumored to be on Tottenham’s Radar

Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham experiment might soon incorporate a blast from the manager’s past should Adam Lallana be recruited this summer.

The pair both made names for themselves at Southampton, and indeed left the club for supposedly greener pastures — Liverpool for Lallana and, of course, Tottenham for Pochettino –after the 2013/14 season.

While it wouldn’t be fair to say that their fortunes have diverged since then, Lallana has not quite enjoyed the meteoric rise in reputation that Pochettino has over the subsequent two seasons. While the England midfielder continues to impress for Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool, the heights of his last season with the Saints remain just beyond reach.

According to the Sun, Pochettino might be looking for a reunion this summer all the same. He’s supposedly told Daniel Levy that Lallana is his number one priority in this summer’s transfer market.

The England international’s services would not come cheaply. Liverpool are thought to be pinning a £20 million price tag on Lallana. Should Tottenham splurge this summer and meet this hypothetical Liverpool demand, that would make Lallana the fourth most expense player in the club’s history after Érik Lamela, Roberto Soldado and Hueng-min Son.

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With that in mind, what exactly would make such a transaction worth it from Pochettino and Tottenham’s perspective?

There’s no denying the facts here. Lallana was the centre-piece of Pochettino’s efforts at Southampton, particularly in his second and last season with the club.

While that Saints side was bursting with talent — Jay Rodriguez, Morgan Schneiderlin and Nathaniel Clyne also frequented Pochettino’s starting XIs — it was Lallana around whom the whole team pivoted.

Like Dele Alli or Christian Eriksen, Lallana combines an ability to operate in both directions in attacking midfield — attack and control. That versatility would make him a natural fit for a side like Tottenham.

His move to Liverpool might not be the success many thought it would be. His suitability in Brendan Rodger’s system wasn’t always obvious, though he’s since found more purchase in Klopp’s system.

Leg injuries have kept him out of the squad for substantial chunks of his two seasons with Liverpool as well. Considering that he played in each of Southampton’s 38 matches — 37 as a starter — in his last season with the club, that relative inconsistency has understandable disrupted his rhythm.

As a result of these circumstances, Lallana has only managed nine goals and nine assists in his two Premier League seasons plying his trade for the Reds — almost exactly as many as the nine goals and eight assists he managed in his last season with Southampton.

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As with virtually any expensive signing rumor that will be tossed about this summer, the first question that demands asking will be some approximation of “is this worth it?” Seeing as how strong Tottenham’s starting XI already is, how could a player like Lallana materially improve the club?

Tottenham’s qualification for the Champions League group stage moots this concern somewhat. Pochettino needs more than eleven players he can rely on now that he’ll be meaningfully competing on two fronts. That means that this season’s bench players — most notably Son and Clinton Njie — can expect a more meaningful rotation next season, as can any player like Lallana who might come in.

And it’s not simply a matter of a Premier League squad and a Champions League squad. Players need to be able to rotate on a situational basis, covering both injuries and rest as needed. A player like Lallana, one who has already demonstrated his ability to fit into Pochettino’s system, therefore becomes wildly more important to have available.

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Perhaps he doesn’t automatically start about any of Eriksen, Alli or Lamela, but he does get minutes early and often. Given the surprising ascent of players like Alli and Mousa Dembélé this season, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that Lallana might be a key figure in the matchday squad at some point. 

Any other £20 million rumor might be easy to shrug off. A move for Lallana would make sense for the club as a whole though, and it wouldn’t be a tremendous surprise if indeed he constitutes the biggest deal of the summer for Tottenham.