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Jurgen Klopp believes Adam Lallana needed to leave his “comfort zone” to take the next step toward being a top-class star.

The former Southampton forward returns to St Mary’s with Liverpool on Wednesday night, and is facing an inevitable barrage of abuse from the fans he left behind.

But Reds’ boss Klopp insists one day Saints supporters will realise Lallana did the right thing in leaving – because moving to Anfield was an initial step back, which eventually pushed him way beyond what he may have achieved had he stayed on the south coast.

(Image: The FA via Getty)

Lallana is perhaps the biggest threat to his old club in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg, after a stellar 12 months where he has become not just one of his club’s best players, but one of England's too.

Klopp said of the 28-year-old: “He has made outstanding, big steps from an already high level.

"That is not always expected, and you cannot be sure he would have done the same at Southampton.

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

“In his first year [at Liverpool, under Brendan Rodgers], I heard nobody was really happy about his performances — and especially himself probably.

"So it’s clear he needed this kind of step back to make the next step in the right direction. He left the comfort zone, if you want.”

Lallana was 12 years old when he joined Saints' academy and Klopp added: “With his quality I can imagine everybody at Southampton thought he could be the player for the next 10-15 years to build a team around.

Watch — Klopp on a potential Coutinho comeback in Wednesday's EFL Cup tie:

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“But I’m really happy he decided differently and wanted another challenge and experience.”

Fit-again Philippe Coutinho will be on the Liverpool bench, having been out since late November with an ankle injury.