Why Adam Lallana Is the Liverpool Player with Most to Prove in Pre-Season

Liverpool's players return for pre-season training at the start of July, ahead of the new 2015/16 season, and there will be plenty of players with much to prove.

Brendan Rodgers' side head to Asia and Australia for their pre-season tour, where they'll play four games, and those matches will be an opportunity to not only raise fitness levels ahead of the new campaign but also make a case for a starting place on the opening day—away to Stoke City on August 8.

As ever, there will be a host of youngsters looking to impress when provided the rare opportunity to do so, while new signings such as James Milner, Danny Ings and Joe Gomez will be eager to get off to a good start.

But after a disappointing 2014/15, where the new signings of last summer failed to impress, there will be many others with a point to prove.

One of those, Adam Lallana, was Rodgers' priority signing a year ago, reportedly the manager's "No.1 summer target," per Alex Richards of the Mirror. Eventually, Liverpool paid £25 million for the Englishman, making him their second-most expensive signing of all time.

But things didn't start well for Lallana, picking up a knee ligament injury on his first week of pre-season training which ruled him out for six weeks, missing pre-season and the start of the season. It set the tone for his debut campaign on Merseyside.

Three more injuries followed in January, February and March, disrupting his rhythm just as he seemed to find form after two goals and his best performance for the club in the 4-1 win over Swansea City in the final game of 2014.

The 27-year-old started 32 games in all competitions, scoring six goals and assisting four—a significant drop off from the 10 goals and eight assists he provided for Southampton the season before, per Transfermakt.

As one of the senior players in Rodgers' squad, Lallana must get back to that return of goals and assists next season.

Lallana is what Rodgers described as the type of player he wanted to sign; "multi-functional, and can play in different roles and are multi-dimensional in their work."

According to WhoScored.com, Lallana played in seven different positions for the Reds in his debut season, with the large majority of his minutes being played in what would be his most natural role, as an attacking left forward. Later in the campaign, though, he even ended up playing as a right-sided wing-back.

What Lallana needs now is to do enough to cement one of the positions as his own, rather than become a victim of his versatility. 

In order to do this he must add consistency to his game, and he could benefit from not holding on to the ball too long and turning into defenders so often.

Replacing Sterling

With Raheem Sterling heading for the exit at Liverpool this summer, Rodgers will need to replace the 20-year-old attacker.

The Liverpool boss would be wise to invest the Sterling money in a new centre-forward but adding another creative attacking midfielder would also be a welcome addition. Brazilian Roberto Firmino has been linked this week, per the Mirror (h/t the Independent), and he would certainly add dynamism to Liverpool's attack.

Quite where Lallana would fit in if Firmino arrived is a tough question.

With James Milner arriving and seemingly being guaranteed a central-midfield role, Rodgers' midfield three looks likely to be Milner, Jordan Henderson and Emre Can.

That leaves a centre-forward (Daniel Sturridge or a new signing), Philippe Coutinho and one other. If Firmino arrives, that other will be him. Lallana wouldn't be in the starting XI.

It would be the same story should Rodgers opt for two up front, pairing Sturridge and a new forward or Danny Ings, meaning Coutinho would be the attacking midfielder playing in a midfield diamond.

Lallana's best chance, then, is if Rodgers opts for a 4-2-3-1 shape, where Lallana occupied the left-side role for the majority of his time at Southampton.

Pre-Season

Having missed last pre-season due to injury and after a less than convincing debut season, Liverpool's second record signing has a lot to prove this summer.

Having played for England in their Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia in mid-June, Lallana and the other players involved in internationals will return to pre-season slightly later than those not involved for their countries. That again increases the need for Lallana to hit the ground running once he does return to the squad.

There are plenty with a point to prove at Liverpool this summer and next season, but Lallana arguably has the most to prove that Rodgers was right to make him a priority 12 months ago and spend such a large sum of the Luis Suarez money on.