Lallana keen to play his part in Europe

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Midfielder targets return to action in pre-season.

Bruce Talbot

2023-06-17T06:00:00Z

Adam Lallana is aiming to be fit for the start of next season.

Adam Lallana admits he will have a busier summer than most as he sets his sights on helping Albion flourish in their first European campaign.

The 35-year-old midfielder didn’t feature in the team after suffering a hamstring injury in the 2-2 draw at Leicester City in January.

“I picked up a slight calf strain during my rehab so I knew I wouldn’t feature until the coming pre-season, but I thoroughly enjoyed the last three months watching how well the lads did and got us into Europe,” he said.

The midfielder's last Premier League appearance came in January against Leicester City.

“I will have a lot of work to do over the summer to make sure I come back in good shape and hopefully I can crack on and have a good European campaign.”

Lallana remained in and around the squad on matchdays when he wasn’t playing, as Albion finished a club record sixth and qualified for the Europa League.

“I have learnt from lots of situations throughout my career that where you do get older and your game time becomes limited, you can get frustrated. I tried not to be that guy and was there to support the manager. No matter how much you play I think you can still give value.”

Having played 24 European games across six seasons during his time with Liverpool, Lallana is well aware of the demands facing Albion next season but he sees no reason why we can’t be competitive in both league and cups.

“I know it will be challenging, and you only have to look statistically at teams who have been in the Europa League or the other European competitions and seen their league form suffer,” he added.

“I’m conscious of that and I’m determined that won’t happen to us. With clever recruitment and with the experience and talented young lads we have in our squad I hope we can compete in all competitions. There’s no reason why we can’t have another really good Premier League campaign and challenge in Europe as well.”