Martin Keown believes that Jurgen Klopp is making a mistake at Liverpool by deploying one member of his squad out of position.
Alexis Mac Allister joined from Brighton over the summer after a magnificent season which saw him net 12 times in all competitions, but the Argentine has featured in a defensive midfield berth in all except one of his matches for his new club (Transfermarkt).
Speaking on talkSPORT (29 September, 10:00), the former Arsenal defender reckons that the Argentine is being wasted in the number 6 role and is coughing up possession too frequently from that area of the pitch.
Keown said of the 24-year-old: “I think he is a great player, but I am not sure he’s playing in the right role. As wonderful as he is, he is losing the ball too much in that [defensive midfield] area.”
You can understand why, given Mac Allister’s aforementioned goalscoring prowess, some observers might think he’s being hampered by playing in the number 6 position.
That may have been through necessity in his first few weeks at Liverpool, but the subsequent signings of Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch – plus the return from injury of Stefan Bajcetic – has since given Klopp several more options at the base of midfield to duly free up the Argentine.
However, with the trio of him, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai beginning the season so impressively as a unit, the manager isn’t likely to break up that triumvirate too readily in Premier League games, so the 24-year-old could well continue in his current role.
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)
Also, Keown’s claim about Mac Allister losing the ball too easily doesn’t quite stand up when looking at the statistics from the campaign so far.
As per Sofascore, the 2022 World Cup winner has lost possession 8.2 times per match, which is less frequent than seven of his teammates. The difference is that, in his number 6 berth, giving away the ball carries a greater risk than someone like Mo Salah or Darwin Nunez doing so in attack.
Playing the Argentine further forward could enable him to unleash a skill set which he’s largely had to withhold at Liverpool, but we don’t expect Klopp to readily rip up a tactical plan which is currently yielding consistently positive results for the team.