One former Everton stalwart believes that Liverpool pulled off the best piece of business of any Premier League club during the summer transfer window.
Following the deadline on Friday night, Leon Osman and Shay Given spoke to Premier League Productions regarding their standout signings of the recently-closed market.
The former had initially made the case for West Ham’s capture of James Ward-Prowse, while the latter plumped for Sandro Tonali, but the ex-Toffees midfielder then highlighted one of the Reds’ additions.
Osman said: “I’m actually going for Alexis Mac Allister. I think £35m-£40m for a guy who’s won the World Cup – he’s on an upward curve, his form is getting better.
“You’re talking about the signing of Tonali for £50-odd million, and I think when you look at the price for Alexis Mac Allister, I think that’s an incredible deal Liverpool have got done.”
For Liverpool to have captured the Argentine World Cup winner – who hit double figures for goals from midfield for Brighton last term – for an initial £35m (potentially rising to £55m, as per BBC Sport) is indeed a staggeringly shrewd piece of transfer business.
Compare that with Chelsea paying more than three times as much for his ex-Seagulls teammate Moises Caicedo, or the £58m the Blues paid to Southampton for Romeo Lavia, who’s only had one season of regular senior football and has to even make a matchday squad since moving to Stamford Bridge.
VOTE for Empire of the Kop as Best Club Content Creator (Premier League) here: Football Content Awards OR on X with Empire’s one-click X link with:
I am voting in @The_FCAs for @empireofthekop in Best Club Content Creator (Premier League)
Harshly sent off on his home debut against Bournemouth a fortnight ago, the 24-year-old’s red card was rightly overturned, and he made the most of that turn of events by putting in a fine display against Newcastle.
As per Sofascore, he won five duels and made four interceptions, two tackles and two blocks as he worked tirelessly out of possession for Liverpool, who were again reduced to 10 players after Virgil van Dijk’s first-half dismissal.
In a marketplace where even inexperienced players are going for mammoth fees, the Reds signing a Premier League-proven World Cup winner for a mere £35m has to go down as one of the standout coups of the summer, as Osman rightly suggests.
#Ep88 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️