Alexis Mac Allister: Klopp ‘fear’ as Man City push to hijack Liverpool transfer as De Zerbi offers significant update
Liverpool remain favourites to sign Alexis Mac Allister this summer – but Manchester City’s efforts to sign the Argentine are seemingly also gathering pace.
Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister has been a player of interest for some time now. The World Cup winner has shone in the Premier League this year and would be a great fit at Anfield.
Klopp will be keen to add more goals to his midfield and Mac Allister adds just that. With 12 strikes this season, he has scored significantly more than any Liverpool midfielder.
It had also been reported that Manchester City were interested, although Fabrizio Romano revealed that Liverpool are still in the driving seat.
Liverpool have been further boosted by Roberto De Zerbi’s latest message. The manager recently admitted that Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo deserve to play at the next level.
“It can be the last game but I don’t know. They can have the possibility to change [clubs] because they deserve to play in another level,” De Zerbi said.
“I don’t know what Tony [Bloom, Brighton owner] can decide. But now we can offer them the possibility to play in Europe because our level is bigger now. We can offer them one possibility more.”
Brighton have done an excellent job at replacing key players in the past. They haven’t looked back for instance since losing Yves Bissouma and Leandro Trossard.
The Brighton model depends upon player sales and investing in the next talents. Brighton would receive large fees for both players and will likely reinvest that money back into the playing squad.
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Liverpool in Mac Allister driving seat, amid Man City worry
Several outlets have confirmed that Liverpool remain in pole position to land Mac Allister this summer. Reports claim a fee of around £70m has been agreed, with Liverpool still discussing personal terms.
“Liverpool are close to full agreement on personal terms with the player, waiting on final details,” revealed Romano.
However, with nothing yet signed, the threat of Manchester City is beginning to cast a shadow on Liverpool’s plans.
They were first linked with the World Cup winner earlier this week. And now the threat of City is beginning to cause alarm at Anfield.
Picking up the story, transfer journalist Graeme Bailey spoke to the Talking Transfers podcast.
“Liverpool want it to be, Liverpool want to get this done, but they are fearful of others joining the hunt and we have seen the Man City links recently.
“We’ve seen Liverpool miss out on players like [Aurelien] Tchouameni in recent years, and they want to get this over the line, they want to bring in two or three midfielders at Anfield,” Bailey said.
Liverpool also want second midfield signing
Along with the Argentine, Liverpool are expected to be in the market for another midfielder.
As the likes of James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita are set to depart, Klopp will be keen to add more depth to this position.
Mac Allister will add more firepower to their midfield, but Liverpool also want to add a holding midfielder to their ranks.
Long-term target Ruben Neves is still being linked, despite Barcelona’s interest in the Wolves midfielder emerging.
It’s fair to say that Fabinho hasn’t been at his best this year and so Klopp wants to add more competition in this area.
Someone like Neves would be a fine addition, but they will have to battle Barcelona for his signature. His contract at Molineux runs until 2024 and he looks more than likely to leave this summer.
The Reds will be keeping a close eye on that deal, but for the time being, landing Mac Allister remains their priority.
