Hoddle: Lallana is England's best player
Former England manager Glen Hoddle says that Adam Lallana is England's best player and that the Liverpool man should have been spotted sooner to play for his country.
Lallana is enjoying a fine season for club and country, forming an integral part of Liverpool's title-challenging side and also Gareth Southgate's England team.
Hoddle believes that there are currently no better players for England than the 28-year-old and, having made his England debut at 25, should have been spotted sooner to play for his country given his ability.
"Had he been at Manchester United at 19, I suspect he would have been in the England team much earlier, rather than waiting until he was 25 to make his debut. And that's wrong," Hoddle wrote in his column for the 'Daily Mail'.
"Talent is talent and you have to identify it and get it in the England squad.
"At 28, he is playing the best football of his career and maybe that is because he only now believes in himself fully. He should do. He is England's best player at present.
"I said at the start of the season that if he could add goals to his assists, he could join the top echelons of the game. Since then he's scored twice for England and three for Liverpool. He needs to maintain that ratio".