Drawing on his extensive experience playing under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, Lallana noted a striking similarity in temperament between the German and De Zerbi, despite their contrasting tactical philosophies. Lallana said: "I always compared him with Jurgen, actually. Probably just the passion that they both possess for the game. I think tactically and game mode-wise, they're completely different. But in terms of love and passion for football, they're exactly the same.
"Roberto's an extremely smart man. He'll know he's not got time to play a certain way, a certain style. He won't be snobbish to not understand that. He knows he's got to go in there and motivate a group of men. Luckily for Roberto, he might not know that but he's one of the most inspirational managers and people there is, in my opinion. After five minutes of him speaking in our first meeting when he joined Brighton, I was on board. I have no doubt he'd be able to emulate that at Spurs."