Home Sports Alexis Mac Allister has a strong case to be signing of the summer as his technical brilliance and tenacity have seen him grow in stature at Liverpool, writes LEWIS STEELE

Alexis Mac Allister has a strong case to be signing of the summer as his technical brilliance and tenacity have seen him grow in stature at Liverpool, writes LEWIS STEELE

by Alexander
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Alexis Mac Allister scored a penalty and Liverpool beat Sparta Prague in the Europa League.
  • Mac Allister had an inconsistent start at Liverpool but soon began to excel
  • The Argentine has a telepathic link with Darwin Núñez on and off the field
  • Is Trent Alexander-Arnold playing mind games with Man City’s trophy-digging? everything is beginning podcast

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Brighton owner Tony Bloom would have laughed all the way to the bank when he saw a check arrive for “just one hundred and fifteen million pounds” last summer for Moisés Caicedo, the midfielder now at Chelsea who had a first Indifferent season to put is kindly.

However, fellow Albion star Alexis Mac Allister for £35m in the same window looks like one Brighton have been shortchanged. Taking into account that relatively small price, the Argentine presents solid arguments to sign in the Premier League this summer.

He had an inconsistent start to life on Merseyside. Due to the unplanned departures of captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, Mac Allister was often forced to play as a number 6 midfielder. It took him about a month to get used to it, but he soon began to excel.

In that role, where he played virtually every game during the first few months of the season while Wataru Endo got up to speed, Mac Allister showed the technical brilliance that many associate with diminutive Argentinians like him, but also a ruthless tenacity on the ball that demonstrates his Scottish and Irish roots.

The boy known as ‘Macca’ in Kirkby is said to be an influential member of the dressing room with an infectious smile. His great friend is Darwin Núñez, and the couple seems to have a growing telepathic bond on and off the court.

Alexis Mac Allister scored a penalty and Liverpool beat Sparta Prague in the Europa League.

Alexis Mac Allister scored a penalty and Liverpool beat Sparta Prague in the Europa League.

Mac Allister has had an inconsistent start to life at Liverpool but the midfielder has started to excel.

Mac Allister has had an inconsistent start to life at Liverpool but the midfielder has started to excel.

Mac Allister has had an inconsistent start to life at Liverpool but the midfielder has started to excel.

The Argentine looks like a bargain at £35m compared to his former Brighton team-mate Moisés Caicedo.

The Argentine looks like a bargain at £35m compared to his former Brighton team-mate Moisés Caicedo.

The Argentine looks like a bargain at £35m compared to his former Brighton team-mate Moisés Caicedo.

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“My relationship with Darwin is very good, of course,” he said this week. “From the first time we saw each other, you could see the connection between us off the field. On the field we try to be connected, when I play as number 8, of course, that connection has to be important.

“I have been playing football for a long time, although I am still young. Experience helps, for me it is important to think about the field and see where your teammates are. Once you have the ball you have to make the decision. I don’t know if I look calm but my brain is at 200 percent!’

In training, the couple is always enjoying a cup of mate together and they like to make fun of each other. Fellow South Americans Alisson and Luis Díaz are also part of the clique, and the four players from different nations have a healthy rivalry over which nation is better.

Núñez has bragging rights in that regard for now, having scored for Uruguay against Brazil and Argentina last year.

He has bragging rights in many departments at the moment after his 99th-minute winner at Nottingham Forest and after mentioning Jurgen Klopp’s 1,000th goal for the Prague club on Thursday night. But Nunez has Mac Allister to thank for that, with two sumptuous assists in the last two games.

Darwin Núñez scored the 1,000th goal of Jurgen Klopp's reign after an assist from Mac Allister

Darwin Núñez scored the 1,000th goal of Jurgen Klopp's reign after an assist from Mac Allister

Darwin Núñez scored the 1,000th goal of Jurgen Klopp’s reign after an assist from Mac Allister

While others have been grabbing the headlines, be it Nunez or the ‘Kindergarten Kop’, Mac Allister has been an ever-present effervescence. He may not be the man to directly lead Liverpool to victory, but he is an increasingly important presence.

His influence on games has grown noticeably since Klopp gave him license to thrill from the number 8 position, with Japanese captain Endo barely putting a foot wrong in the heart of midfield. The pair have a good understanding of how to control a game.

His midfield partner Dominik Szoboszlai, a summer signing, caused a stir with his performances earlier in the season, but Mac Allister has distanced himself from the Hungarian in the transfer conversation of the season, not just at Liverpool but in the entire division.

The Argentine has a museum under construction in his house. He said this week that he “enjoys every day” his World Cup and Carabao Cup medals. If he keeps up these stellar performances, Mac Allister will need to make room for more medals.

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