‘I went to Kenny Dalglish’s house to discuss Liverpool move – it was ridiculous, an honour and a privilege’: Former Reds midfielder recalls signing for legendary Scotsman
The presence of Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool helped persuade a Reds transfer target to join the club in 2011
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish has managed the club on two separate occasions during his life, following a stunning 13-year playing career at Anfield between 1977 and 1990.
For Scottish midfielder Charlie Adam, the allure of the Glaswegian native's presence at Liverpool in 2011 simply proved too much - he simply had to sign for the Reds after having a conversation with Dalglish.
After an incredible season for Blackpool in 2010/11 in which he scored 12 times and nearly kept the Tangerines in the Premier League, interest from across England's top flight became clear in Adam.
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Liverpool had had a £4.5m bid rejected for the midfielder in January 2011 - which Blackpool boss Ian Holloway branded "disrespectful" - before coming back in for him in the summer of the same year, when they had been relegated to the Championship.
Eventually, Liverpool ended up paying £6.75m for Adam, and while the size of the club certainly attracted his attention, the opportunity to work with fellow Scotsman Kenny Dalglish at Anfield proved too good for him to consider other options.
Discussing his signing, Adam highlights the series of events that eventually ended with him in becoming a Liverpool player.
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Adam was one of a number of Liverpool signings (Image credit: Getty Images)
"It was ridiculous – an honour and a privilege to even share some time with him [Dalglish]," Adam exclusively tells FourFourTwo. "In signing for Liverpool, I went to Kenny’s house to meet him and talk about coming to Anfield, and it was amazing.
"He’s a wonderful guy and you can see why he’s so revered and respected in football. It’s the little things with Kenny: the way he would phone you up out of the blue from time to time just for a chat, or the way he always is with Liverpool supporters even when things aren’t going well.
"He’s a legend, simple as that."
Neither Adam nor Dalglish would last long at Anfield following his signing in 2011, with both already out the exit door a year later. Brendan Rodgers came in to replace Dalglish as manager, while Adam departed for Stoke in a deal that is believed to be considerably less than what Liverpool initially payed for him.
Dalglish managed Liverpool for a second time between 2011 and 2012 (Image credit: Dave Howarth)
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
