OPINION
It has been a hugely tough season for Liverpool star Adam Lallana.
Recurring injuries limited the 30-year-old to just 16 games in all competitions, and his lack of action led to Lallana being left out of England’s 23-man squad for the World Cup.
While the Liverpool man does still stand a slight chance of making an appearance at the finals through the standby list, that would not gloss over what has been an arduous season at Anfield.
And, unfortunately for Lallana, things are not looking like they will get any easier next term.
Liverpool have just completed a £39million move for Monaco midfielder Fabinho, with a touted £60million deal for Nabil Fekir looking likely to follow.
Both these players will bring intense competition for places at Anfield, and Lallana looks extremely unlikely to be anywhere close to the starting XI come August.
Fekir’s addition in particular will cause Lallana anguish, with the France international set to be the long-term replacement for Philippe Coutinho.
His arrival will leave Lallana as fifth or sixth choice in attacking areas, and it would not be surprising for the club to add yet another player in those positions in the coming weeks.
Lallana is still loved by Jurgen Klopp but his consistent injury problems and lack of pace make him an increasingly peripheral figure on Merseyside.
The 30-year-old is also well-liked on the terraces, but not many fans would see him as a regular next season either, and that suggests it may be time for Lallana to seek a new challenge.
And, if Lallana does not see it that way and wants to stay, then Klopp must be ruthless and sell him on this summer.
The club are not getting value for money on his £110,000-a-week wages [BBC], and he must be offloaded in the coming months.
Players like him are of the previous phase in Klopp’s revolution, and this new phase must not be tied down by those who are not contributing enough.
Offloading his high wages and freeing up space in the squad can only be a good thing, and it is a move that Klopp must ruthlessly make in the coming weeks.
