i’m starting to think adam lallana might actually become a better version of steven gerrard he’s certainly got all the qualities that make him the perfect replacement for the liverpool captain i appreciate that jordan henderson is set to take over as skipper, but in terms of dynamism, energy and quality, lallana looks like the perfect replacement for gerrard the player have a look at sunday’s victory over manchester city: lallana started the game as one of two no 10s behind raheem sterling (brendan rodgers’ innovative approach as a coach should not be underestimated) when lazar markovic went off, lallana went over to the right wing, and then when alberto moreno was substituted, lallana ended the game on the left wing adam lallana (centre) gave an all action display as liverpool impressively beat manchester city  lallana chats with liverpool captain steven gerrard during training on monday  he is truly two footed – for that reason alone english football should treasure him but he is also clearly capable of playing in different positions, and he can adapt midway through a game those qualities are not readily available in most players and it takes me back to the champions league final of 2005 when gerrard ended up at right back the very best not only play different positions, they excel in those positions as well lallana still has to prove he can do it, as gerrard did, in a major final, but he proved it in a massive game on sunday a simple five minute chat about lallana with rodgers will have him purring the liverpool manager will be using words and phrases like 'balance', 'clever', 'worker', 'technical ability', 'awareness', 'great character', 'looks after the ball' bring up the subject of lallana and you could be there all day with rodgers on sunday all the talk was of philippe coutinho, and understandably so the brilliance of his goals alone in recent weeks makes him the hot topic and it’s great to see him add consistency to the undoubted quality but lallana’s contribution should not go unnoticed philippe coutinho (2nd right) curled home liverpool's winner late on in the premier league clash at anfield  vice captain jordan henderson (right, front) also scored a screamer for the reds on sunday  one thing you might not know about lallana is that in rodgers’ words, he is 'no shrinking violet' he has bags of personality and character off the pitch as well as on it, and good leadership qualities – let’s not forget he was captain of southampton as they returned to re establish themselves in the premier league for liverpool’s system he is perfect he has quality on the ball – did you see his cruyff turn in the centre circle against city? breathtaking stuff – he creates – he scores (probably could score more) – and he presses the ball he was injured pre season, so it was a slow start to his liverpool career and some supporters were too quick to judge rodgers knew that opponents’ approach to liverpool would be different this season, he knew he would need players to be clever on the ball, and lallana has that football intelligence lallana   who played three positions against city   shows his defensive qualities challenging sergio aguero  he doesn’t get talked about too much, does he? is that because he’s english? probably but rodgers told me this about lallana: 'he’s technically as good as any european player' some might disagree, but it rams home the point that we don’t value his qualities highly enough in this country in the feverish pace of the premier league, lallana still makes time for himself on the ball, and has that football intelligence and ability to make an impact on a game yet somehow, if he is only on the bench for england later this month it won’t be a surprise and that’s a shame in my opinion gerrard’s departure will still hurt liverpool fans, but i expect lallana to grow even more when the legend leaves he’s one of the most underrated footballers in the premier league lallana slides in to have an effort on the manchester city goal that went narrowly wide of the target 
man city jordan henderson england steven gerrard adam lallana manchester city 2 1 liverpool lallana sunday gerrard
liverpool beat champions manchester city 2 1 on sunday  england midfielder adam lallana excelled in three different positions  liverpool captain steven gerrard is leaving the club at end of the season  lallana looks the perfect replacement for gerrard  read: jordan henderson confident liverpool can finish above man city  click here for all the latest liverpool news 