Jordan Henderson has told Adam Lallana to base his game on this Barcelona player
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has told Adam Lallana to base his game on Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong as he prepares for a switch in position.
Having spent much of his career as a more forward-thinking player, Lallana is attempting to reinvent himself as a deep-lying midfielder.
Jurgen Klopp fielded him in that role during pre-season and may have earmarked him as Fabinho's understudy in the No.6 position.
And Henderson, who was previously employed as a holding player in the engine room, has told his team-mate to watch both Fabinho and De Jong as he continues his adaptation.
"I’m still waiting to get a chance there," Lallana told The Times. "That may or may not come, but it definitely interests me. i find it very stimulating because I get more of the ball than I have ever had in my career before.
"Sometimes as a No.8 you are making decoy runs, or you are offering and you don’t get the ball. Whereas if you are in the 'six' you are centralised to the play, involved in the build-up a lot more. That is what I noticed straight away. That’s where the stimulation comes from - it feels good to be on the ball.
"I've not gone into it too deeply. Jordan told me I need to watch Frenkie de Jong. The way he plays it, he kind of dribbles a little bit more than other sixes would, which obviously brings a bit of risk but that is in my game.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
"I do watch the six more so now than what the eight does because I know that reasonably well. What are their movements like? I’ve found myself focusing on Fabinho a little bit in our first games and he has played it outstandingly well."
Liverpool take on Newcastle in the early kick-off on Saturday.
READ MORE
12 players you won't believe won the Premier League Player of the Month award
9 things you might not have known about this season's Champions League
Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).
'I think that’s the respectful thing for two captains to do after a game. I probably boiled over a bit at the end, with a bit of everything coming out': Jarrod Bowen lifts lid on heated clash with Mario Lemina after West Ham's win over Wolves
Arsenal want Dan Ashworth - for a VERY different kind of revolution