According to reports from The Express, Southampton want to re-sign Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana on a free transfer.

What's the word?

Lallana left St. Mary's for Anfield in summer 2014 and has gone on to make 175 appearances for Liverpool, in that time featuring in the 2017/18 Champions League final.

However, the 34-cap Englishman's influence has steadily waned over the past few seasons, failing to make more than five Premier League starts in a single campaign since the 2016/17 term having suffered a series of serious injuries.

With his contract due to expire in the summer, The Express claim a number of clubs are interested in signing the midfielder, namely Tottenham, West Ham, Leicester and Arsenal.

But perhaps the standout mention due to the personal connection is indeed Southampton, the club where Lallana made his name after helping them rise from League One to the Premier League.

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Qualities Southampton lack

Lallana may be no spring chicken at the age of 31 but he offers Southampton a number of qualities they currently lack, starting with his vast experience. Saints have one of the younger squad ages in the Premier League (joint sixth) and the starting XI that lost 2-1 to Burnley featured just three players over 27.

Lallana is an England international and a former Champions League finalist, so he can bring the composure and leadership only wisdom and experience provides. Saints certainly lacked that in the first half of the season, when they went a staggering eight games without a win.

Perhaps more importantly, Lallana has always been an incredibly creative player, using his slight frame to quickly change the angle of attacks and his vision to lay off deft passes. During his last full season of regular action, 2016/17, he provided seven assists and averaged 1.4 key passes per match.

Compare that to the current Saints squad and there is an obvious difference: No Southampton player has produced more than three assists this season, and top of that list is centre-back Jack Stephens. James Ward-Prowse is the only player to exceed 1.4 key passes this season as well - most of those will have come from dead ball situations rather than open play.

Clearly Southampton would benefit from a player with Lallana's guile, but where he actually fits into the team remains a matter of debate.

Now into his 30s and certainly not getting any quicker, he wouldn't suit Saints' wide midfield roles and he lacks the natural physicality to operate in a two-man engine room pairing, which essentially rules out any spots in Ralph Hasenhuttl's 4-4-2 formation.

Ideally, Lallana would be placed as part of a midfield three or even as a number ten - so far this season, Hasenhuttl has used formations with either setup just six times in the Premier League.

Fitting Lallana into the team would take some compromise on Hasenhuttl's part then, but considering what he could potentially bring to it, the trade-off seems worthwhile.