Mauricio Pochettino hails "special" Adam Lallana

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 02 February 2014

Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino is effusive in his praise of Adam Lallana and calls for the midfielder to be named in England's World Cup squad this summer.

Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino has described midfielder Adam Lallana as a "very special" player and called for him to be included in England's World Cup squad this summer.

Lallana scored his seventh goal of the season during the Saints' 3-0 win over Fulham in the Premier League yesterday.

"His progress is consistent, his progress is constant. It's his second season in the Premier League so it's only normal that he's becoming even more professional and his progress is always on the up, it's always constant. These are players that are always improving and they are showing their talent and progression," Pochettino is quoted as saying by PA.

"You can see that he is one of the most talented players in the English game right now. He is the type of player that is hard to find in any other English team. It is clear to anyone the talent that he has got. I have great respect for Roy Hodgson's decisions, it's not up to me to decide who gets on the plane.

"In my opinion, if Adam Lallana had a Brazilian nationality, a Spanish nationality, if he were another [Juan] Mata, Oscar, [Eden] Hazard, or any of these type of players then, for sure, he would be going with their national side. I truly believe that. Of course he is a very talented player, a very special player. He is a player I really praise, I really like his characteristics as a player and hopefully he can be on that plane to Brazil because I think he fully deserves it, he fully deserves to be there."

Lallana made his England debut in a friendly against Chile in November and retained his place in the side for their next match against Germany.