Not often do you get to see British players being linked with the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid. In fact, Gareth Bale’s recent success story has been rare. Real Madrid have taken their chances but their arch-rivals Barcelona haven’t been all that keen on signing players from the British Isles.
You’d have go back to the likes of Gary Lineker and Mark Hughes who played for the Blaugrana decades ago. While Lineker had a good spell at Catalonia, Hughes was disappointing. There’s no shortage of talent in the Premier League but most of the transfers involve non-English players. Adam Lallana, though, could finally break the spell as he’s been linked with the current La Liga holders.
Lallana’s rise at Liverpool has coincided with Jürgen Klopp’s arrival. A player who was deemed overpriced when signed under former manager Brendan Rodgers has now become an indispensable part of a free-flowing and attacking Liverpool side. In fact, a year and a half ago it was hard to imagine he’d have such big an impact in Klopp’s game plan.
Barcelona’s dominant run in the La Liga nearly came to an end last season as they had a late lean patch but somehow managed to cross the line to lift their sixth La Liga title in eight years. This season, though, it’s looking more and more likely that Real Madrid will end their five-year wait for the domestic title.
Quite evidently, Barcelona need to sign players to not only increase their squad depth, but to challenge the first team XI on a regular basis. They did spend quite a lot of money in the summer but the signings were clearly made keeping in mind the long-term future of the club.
There was a clear pattern in the summer transfer window; the quintet of Digne, Umtiti, Gomes, Suarez, and Alcacer were pretty much of the same age group and they haven’t been able to challenge the strongest Barcelona XI. Adam Lallana with all his experience and what he’s mustered in the last 15 months, could be the player to break into the main XI and bring about an impact.
Liverpool play the same formation that Barcelona use and there is still a whiff of Pep’s blueprint present in Enrique’s style, the same whiff that influenced Klopp’s style as well. The transition could be an easy one if Lallana does make an unlikely move. He could slot in the three-man midfield and with Busquets playing alongside him, he’ll have the same freedom that he’s currently enjoying at Liverpool to influence the attacking proceedings.
