Liverpool confirmed on Tuesday the arrival of England midfielder Adam Lallana from fellow Premier League side Southampton on a long-term deal.
No transfer fee was announced but British media estimate Liverpool paid around £25 million (Dh157.4m) for the 26 year old, a member of the side who failed to progress to the second round of the World Cup in Brazil.
"It's a huge step. Liverpool have got so much history and after the season they had last season, I can't wait to get started and carry on and build on that," Lallana said on the club website.
Lallana, Southampton's captain, will rejoin former club and country team mate Rickie Lambert, who also moved to Liverpool this month.
Lallana made 235 league appearances for Southampton, scoring 48 goals, and was instrumental in helping the south coast club to an eighth-place finish last term with a record 56 points.
His form led to an England call-up, and he appeared in all three of England's World Cup matches, starting the goalless draw with Costa Rica.
Liverpool, who finished runners-up to Manchester City last season, also last month agreed in principle to bring in midfielder Emre Can from Bayer Leverkusen.
Lallana's departure is a further blow to Southampton, who saw England defender Luke Shaw leave for Manchester United on Friday for a reported 30 million pounds and manager Mauricio Pochettino head for Tottenham Hotspur.
sports@thenational.ae
‘A huge step’ for Adam Lallana as he joins ‘special’ Liverpool
British media estimate Liverpool paid Southampton around £25 million for the 26-year-old midfielder.
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