The chance to join Middlesbrough came up during his time with Southampton.
Ahead of England’s World Cup qualifier with Scotland, Adam Lallana has admitted that he once considered the possibility of signing for Gordon Strachan when the current Scotland boss was in charge of Middlesbrough, The Scottish Sun reports.
The 28-year-old was coming through the ranks at Southampton when Strachan was in charge of the south coast side. And he explained that as the Saints edged closer to the brink of financial collapse, the opportunity to work under him at the Riverside Stadium proved to be a tempting one.
Adam Lallana, during his time with Southampton
“When Southampton were close to going bust, Strachan was the boss at Middlesbrough at the time,” he said, as reported by The Scottish Sun.
“There was talk of me potentially going there. When that was happening, I remember thinking what a good boss he was at Southampton. He was a great manager and a top player.”
Scotland manager Gordon Strachan
Ultimately, the attacking midfielder ended up staying at St Mary’s, and proved to be one of their most important players as they secured back-to-back promotions to go from League One to the Premier League in two seasons.
And after shining at the highest level as much as he had in the third tier, it was Liverpool that lured him away in 2014.
He has maintained that form for the Reds. He has scored three times and contributed five assists to help Jurgen Klopp’s men go into the international break at the top of the table.
And while it is highly unlikely that a move to Boro would have seen the club enjoy anything like the success that Liverpool have, some of the side’s supporters may perhaps wonder what could have been had Strachan been able to sign him.
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