Short-term contract scenario could see Adam Lallana get the Premier League medal his efforts deserve [Opinion]

While the fortunes of Liverpool have steadily improved during his time at the club, Adam Lallana’s have gone in the opposite direction in recent years. 

Having excelled in the 2016/17 season with eight goals and seven assists as the Reds claimed a top four finish in the Premier League, a pre-season injury in the following summer curtailed his Anfield involvement for the subsequent campaign and he has managed only nine league starts since then.

The 31-year-old’s contract at the club is set to expire at the end of June, with the Liverpool Echo stating in recent days that he will likely leave at the end of the season. However, with the Premier League on hold due to the coronavirus crisis, the current campaign could possibly be delayed to the extent that it isn’t completed until after the expiry date on Lallana’s contract.

The midfielder, along with other top-flight players in the same boat, could get a reprieve, though. The Athletic‘s David Ornstein reported [via This Is Anfield] that the FA and FIFA could grant special dispensation for short-term rolling contracts should the season roll into July. That scenario would allow Lallana to claim a Premier League winner’s medal should the campaign be completed and Liverpool maintain their current position at the top of the table.

The ex-Southampton man may have had little part to play in a likely title triumph for the Reds, with only 373 minutes of action in the league so far this term, but he has served the club since 2014 by making 178 appearances. He was at Anfield in leaner times, too, with Liverpool finishing sixth and eighth in his first two seasons at the club when merely qualifying for the Champions League, never mind ambitions of being league champions, seemed a barometer of a successful campaign for the Reds.

The aforementioned 2016/17 season has proven to be a turning point for Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp, with a top four finish secured on the final day paving the way for the Reds to return to the Champions League. Lallana’s eight goals in that campaign, including one in the final day victory over Middlesbrough, went some way towards securing their invitation to Europe’s top table.

It is fair to say that his standards have dipped since then, even allowing for him no longer being a regular starter. In 2016/17, he averaged 1.6 shots, 1.4 key passes, 1.6 successful tackles and 0.6 interceptions per game. This season, his match averages have fallen to 0.3 shots, 0.3 key passes, 1.3 successful tackles and 0.3 interceptions. [via WhoScored]

However, the 31-year-old’s passing accuracy has improved slightly from three seasons ago, when he completed 84.3% of his passes in the Premier League. This term, 85.7% of his passes have found a team-mate, while his average for successful tackles is only slightly down on his 2016/17 figure. [via WhoScored]

Also, whatever happens for the rest of the season (assuming it is completed), Lallana can lay claim to one noteworthy moment should Liverpool go on to be crowned champions. It was his late equaliser at Old Trafford which prevented Manchester United from inflicting defeat on the Reds back in October and ultimately enabled them to remain unbeaten in the league until the visit to Watford at the end of last month, some 28 games into the campaign.

While it seems that some Liverpool fans would welcome the midfielder’s departure if, as seems likely, he goes in the summer, the prospect of a rolling contract into July should the Premier League season continue that long ought to give Lallana the chance to claim a part of history that he partly helped to create. It would also be a perfect and deserved swansong to a six-year Liverpool career that has seen him endure some real lows (the 6-1 at Stoke in 2015, his long-term injury two years later) but also taste magnificent highs (his excellent 2016/17 season, last year’s Champions League triumph).

Liverpool fans, would you like to see Lallana being given a short-term rolling contract throughout July if the Premier League season isn’t completed by then? Comment below with your views!