The Athletic’s Andy Jones has suggested that Liverpool ‘would want’ to play Alexis Mac Allister in a role the 24-year-old is understood to prefer.
The journalist wrote an in-depth tactical analysis on the Argentina midfielder on Tuesday, covering the regularity of the various positions in which he was deployed at Brighton, the distance and placement of his passing, and his seasonal touch map.
It was referenced towards the end of the article that his father had already told Seagulls manager Roberto De Zerbi in the wake of last year’s World Cup that ‘his son preferred operating in the role he plays for Argentina: further up the pitch on the left as a No 10‘.
Jones then added: ‘It’s a role that Liverpool would want him to play in their box formation.’
If indeed Jurgen Klopp is likely to deploy Mac Allister on the left in that attacking midfield area of the pitch behind the forward line, and if that’s the role the 24-year-old prefers, it should make for a pleasing arrangement for both player and manager.
That could indicate to some extent why Liverpool have been so keen to sign him, and the German may well have had a perfect tactical plan in mind for the World Cup winner all along.
As per Transfermarkt, the Argentine began the season primarily as a deep-lying midfielder but gradually shifted further upfield following his international heroics in Qatar over the winter, playing mostly in a number 10 position from February onwards.
That potent attacking midfield presence just behind the front three is something the Reds have arguably lacked since Philippe Coutinho’s departure in 2018, so Mac Allister could offer a welcome impetus from that area of the pitch at Anfield.
If he can match or better his tally of 12 goals for Brighton from the most recent campaign (Transfermarkt) in his first season at Liverpool, it’ll go a long way towards instantly repaying the £35m he’ll reportedly cost the club (Fabrizio Romano).