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It's no secret Liverpool have made it a priority to sign Adam Lallana, having made their interest known and launching a bid of around £20M after add-ons for the 26-year-old England international midfielder. It's also no secret that Southampton want rather more than that if they are to sell, with reports of demands ranging from £25-30M if Liverpool want to secure the player.
Tottenham's signing of manager Mauricio Pochettino further complicates matters. Spurs may not be especially well placed to enter into a bidding war with Liverpool, but another contender for Lallana's signature was always likely to delay the completion of any deal. Spurs, though, may not be the biggest reason why a deal for Lallana could end up delayed—or even abandoned.
The real problem in getting a deal done may come from Southampton. That's because today, Lallana's current club have come out to state in no uncertain terms that they will not be making any player sales until they have hired a new manager, committing to involving their next man in charge in any summer moves and meaning a deal is likely impossible before the World Cup.
"It's very clear we are in control of all the player transfers," said Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger. "All our top players are under long-term contract, and any transfers will take place on our terms. We will decide the terms of any potential transfers in and out of the club, and we will involve the [next] manager. That is important for everybody to know."
Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers had hoped to secure a deal ahead of the World Cup, and this delay as much as Southampton's monetary demands could put an end to their interest if deals for secondary targets can be done in the next two weeks. If rumours are to be believed, growing interest in Bayern's Xherdan Shaqiri may even mean Liverpool have already moved on.
"We have been able to not agree to any transfers so far because we have control of the situation," added Krueger. "Anybody who is saying anything else doesn't understand we are in a strong position. We don't need to sell."
