Fresh on the tail of seeing his former team mate sign for the club, Adam Lallana believes that Nathaniel Clyne will flourish at Anfield under Brendan Rodgers.
Talking to Liverpoolfc.com, Lallana spoke about his closeness to his new teammate, and how he spoke to him about the move while on holiday this summer.
“Liverpool explains itself. The whole world knows about Liverpool. I just said to him that I hoped the deal would get done as it’ll be a great place for him to improve even more, especially under Brendan Rodgers’ guidance.”
This news should be encouraging to Liverpool fans, and Lallana says Clyne was thinking about the potential transfer whilst he was on holiday.
Lallana said: “I’ve spoken to him [about the move] and I was actually on holiday with him for a little bit this summer – we were in America together. I managed to speak to him about it there and I kind of knew it could be on the cards. His intentions were there and he was hoping the deal could get sorted.”
With deals typically becoming harder and harder to complete, it is comments like this that show players enjoy playing for the club, and prove how a great atmosphere coupled with a positive, enthusiastic manager can rub off and help compete for signings when the talk of money is shelved.
The club’s new right-sided defender is widely expected to be a constant starter for the club, trading places with outgoing right-back Glen Johnson. Yet, from what Lallana sees, he could well be the perfect replacement.
“He’s as solid as they come for a right-back and getting forward, he’s got goals in his locker,” claimed Lallana. “In one versus one situations defensively, he’s the kind of full-back you just don’t want to come up against.”
There was a feeling of negativity around Johnson at the club, with a suspicion that his best days were behind him, which culminated in him not agreeing an appropriate deal to stay with the club.
Lallana says an improvement over the past few years shows how new boy Clyne will only get better:
“It’s a massive signing for us. I played with him for a couple of seasons at Southampton and since they signed him, he’s come on a lot.
“Last season he probably had his best season at Southampton, got an England call up and he’s been a regular in the squad ever since.
“I’ve not been surprised by his progress.
“When Southampton signed him from Palace, you could see he had potential. Since then, he’s developed and learnt the game – he’s turned from a kid into a man on the pitch.”
However, it is not only Clyne than the Liverpool number 20 was excited about seeing walk out onto the Anfield turf. He also praised the decisive work done behind the scenes to help Liverpool capture some more of their top targets.
“The signings so far have been tremendous,” he said. “There’s Firmino, Milner, Ings and now Clyne, as well as Bogdan and Gomez. It’s a great variety and added to what we’ve already got, hopefully it can be a good combination for success.”
And speaking of his excitement to return to training, the former Southampton captain said: “I think everyone’s looking forward to getting back. We’ve got an exciting tour, but we’ve still got a few more days left of our holidays, which we’ll enjoy because it’s a tough and long season.”
