How does Adam Lallana even get in this team?

Liverpool playmaker Adam Lallana has been pushed to the fringes of the Premier League this this season, is it all over for him?

Firstly, it’s important to say that Jurgen Klopp clearly still values the former Southampton man. There has been no talk of Lallana leaving this season, and Klopp tried his best to get the England international back into the first team last campaign.

But with the improvements made to the squad, is there a way back? And if there isn’t, should the 30-year-old be shoehorned into a role that he doesn’t necessarily suit?

With only one league start last season, Lallana registered as a blip on the conscience of football fans around the world as the Reds reached the Champions League final.

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Despite assurances that the playmaker is important, maybe that importance has diminished. Lallana is no longer needed to be the first line of defence, because Roberto Firmino presses as hard as anyone. Lallana doesn’t need to be the creator because Firmino does that as well, and Lallana doesn’t need to be the goalscorer because, well this is getting awkward, that’s the Brazilian’s job.

Maybe the former Southampton man used to be so important because he did all the things that Daniel Sturridge couldn’t or wouldn’t do. And Lallana was needed before Firmino developed into such a fine player, and before Liverpool signed Naby Keita or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Mohamed Salah.

But there’s more: Xherdan Shaqiri has also come into the side and he can operate as a traditional number 10, although that’s definitely no his preferred position. You could also put Gini Wijnaldum further up and have Fabinho and Jordan Henderson sitting back.

This shouldn’t take away from what Lallana does or how good he is. The 141 game player is still very useful to have around the squad and he was so important to Klopp in the early days. But the Reds have moved on from that, and Lallana’s injury hit season proves that Liverpool can get by without him.

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So the question remains: how does he even get into a side that can’t even fit Fabinho or Henderson into it? The answer? He doesn’t, and if he does, it’s as a rotation option.