As Jurgen Klopp prepares to leave Liverpool, it feels like an appropriate time to look back on some of his best players at the club.
Since his arrival in 2015, Klopp has overseen the careers of some genuine Liverpool legends. Together, they have won it all.
Time after time, signings that the manager made slotted into his first-team squad with ease. The likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk made playing for Liverpool look easy.
Guided by the steady hand of Michael Edwards, the Reds bagged themselves hit after hit in the transfer market.
Prior to Klopp’s arrival though, Liverpool’s track record in the window was not quite so stellar. And according to one player signed in 2014, the responsibility of the red shirt weighed a little too heavy.
Adam Lallana reveals Liverpool insecurity
When Klopp joined Liverpool the club looked very different than it does today. Having only won one trophy in the previous nine years, it was a difficult period in the club’s history.
And although the German inherited some classy players such as Philippe Coutinho, many left over from the Brendan Rodgers era would not last more than a year or two.
One who did manage to stick it out and stay for a good five years under Klopp was Adam Lallana.
After arriving from Southampton in summer 2014, Lallana had plodded through an okay first season at Anfield. But with the team in poor form, he looked a shadow of the player signed from St Mary’s.
Now speaking to Sky Sports about those early days at Liverpool, Lallana has admitted that he was wracked with insecurity. And, being part of a farewell tribute to Klopp, the 36-year-old thanked the outgoing boss for taking those reservations away.
“I turned up at Liverpool and I was insecure. Big time,” says Lallana. “Didn’t feel comfortable in the dressing room, on the pitch, in the kit. Straight away he took that away. Straight away. And I’ll never forget that.”
Read More: Jurgen Klopp’s first ever Liverpool XI, including Adam Lallana
Could Adam Lallana now return to Liverpool?
Klopp and Lallana enjoyed a special relationship during their five years or so together. Though the Brighton man was not always a first name on the teamsheet, the manager loved his leadership, quality and adaptability.
Ultimately, Lallana left Liverpool a Champions League and Premier League winner. And nobody can ever take that away from him.
Since moving to Brighton in 2020, the former England international has shown exactly why Klopp rated him so highly. Lallana has also now made the move into coaching.
With plenty of Liverpool’s backroom team departing alongside the manager, there are spots opening up at Anfield. As Lallana prepares to leave Brighton this summer, maybe one of them has his name on.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be on Arne Slot’s first-team staff. But it’s worth keeping an eye on Adam’s next move.