Alexis Mac Allister’s arrival at Anfield has been surrounded in shock, not because of the quality of the player but because of the amazingly low transfer fee but one expert has attempted to explain why it is so small.
Speaking on BBC Radio Sussex, football finance expert Kieran Maguire said: “Some people have been a bit sniffy about the fee.
“Of course, we all know Mac Allister is a magnificent player. Unfortunately he only had one year left on his contract. That’s why the fee is not reflective of his true market value.”
For the same fee that we spent on Andy Carroll in 2011 and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017, we have managed to secure the services of a World Cup winner and so it’s understandable that this price tag has created some headlines.
Putting the fee in the context of the fact that the Argentine had just one year remaining on his contract with Brighton though, perhaps makes the deal that we have been able to agree more understandable.
It doesn’t take away from the great work done by the club and the departing Julian Ward, who had a big role to play in the negotiations, so we still have plenty of reason to be delighted with this deal.
Now the it’s up to the 24-year-old to prove to everyone that our assumptions are correct, he is worth much more than the fee we have paid for him and that he can go on to be a roaring success for the Reds.