Former Southampton player Adam Lallana has been named the permanent head coach of the Championship club’s under-21 team.

The former Liverpool and England player was appointed as interim boss in November and will now take on the role full-time.

Lallana rejoined Southampton from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 2024 before retiring a year later at the age of 37.

He took on a first-team coaching role at Saints with former boss Will Still, and continued those duties for a short period when Tonda Eckert took over as interim boss after Still’s dismissal.

“As soon as I knew the opportunity was there to help out with the Under-21s and get more hands-on with coaching I was extremely excited,” Lallana told the club website.

“It feels right that I’m at the football club where I came through the academy, I feel like I owe the club a lot in terms of giving back in any way I can to help the young boys develop.

“The pathway feels open, we’ve had some debutants this year so it’s exciting and I’m relishing this time.”