Why Alexis Mac Allister is perfect for Liverpool

Embed from Getty Images

Hands down, Alexis Mac Allister has been one of the Premier League’s most improved players from this season to last. From showing moments and glimpses of brilliance predominantly as a ’10’, Mac Allister became a complete all-rounder for both Brighton and Argentina in 2022-23, fulfilling a number of different roles to fantastic effect.

Embed from Getty Images

For his seamless transition into a ‘DLP’ role at Brighton, where he played a critical role in the team’s sixth place success, I even had the Argentinean midfielder in my ‘Team of the Season’. To get this player for £35 million in today’s obscene money market would be one of the steals of the past few years. In this article, I’ll break down exactly what makes Alexis Mac Allister such a perfect signing for Liverpool.

POSITIONING & ROLE

What I’m about to say might sound crazy, but Alexis Mac Allister combines some of the best qualities of all the best Liverpool midfielders over the past five years. He gallops up the field with an astute awareness of space like Georginio Wijnaldum. He possesses the on-the-ball assurance and long-range passing quality of Jordan Henderson. He even encapsulates the close control and skill of someone like Thiago Alcantara.

Embed from Getty Images

Sticking to the role of the ‘Deep-Lying-Playmaker’ in many matches, he could even continue his development as a ‘number 6’ and eventually replace Fabinho. This is an incredible signing for Liverpool. Not only is it cheap money for a remarkably gifted player. But it’s cheap money for a player who can replace any of the four players I mentioned and accomplish relatively similar feats all in one encompassing persona.

Embed from Getty Images

For Brighton, Alexis Mac Allister started out as a ‘Midfield Maestro’ often playing in the ’10’ position, but also swapping between roles as a ‘False 9’, ‘Inverted Winger’, and ‘Floating 8’. With Yves Bissouma no longer at the club, Graham Potter then swapped Mac Allister’s position to be in front of the defensive line as a ‘6’ and alongside the more defensively-minded Moisés Caicedo.

For the Argentinean national team, Lionel Scaloni recognized Mac Allister’s box-to-box ability and fantastic perceptions of space, and played him as an ‘8’ ahead of Enzo Fernandez in the deep-lying role. He flourished in the role through his effervescent energy, becoming a critical component to their World Cup triumph.

Embed from Getty Images

Roberto De Zerbi then continued to deploy Mac Allister as more of a ‘6’ in his early days at the club, but again evolved the Argentinean’s positioning over the course of the season to continuously switch between an ‘8’ and ’10’. Regardless of all the numbers here, the point is that Mac Allister can play anywhere across midfield areas to fantastic success. As you’ll come to see, he has the potential to combine all the traits a team like Liverpool could want in a midfielder. But he adds the extra advantage that few others in the position accomplish – the ability to change roles by the match.

We could speculate whether or not he’ll be more of the Henderson or Wijnaldum in the side (I think his on-the-ball quality and out-of-possession shuttling is too immaculate not to be the Henderson). But the truth is, the 24-year-old will likely play the part of all and more for the Reds throughout the next few seasons for the club.

ATTACKING PRINCIPLES

Embed from Getty Images

Alexis Mac Allister stands out for his ability to drive into space. Not only does this require perceptions of where to take space, but the confidence to drive at the opposition, push opposition defenses back, and then wait for the right moment to release the ball.

This is why I think Mac Allister is best as an ‘8’, rather than that ‘deep-lying 6’ role that he played so perfectly for Brighton at the start of the season. From a statistical profiling perspective, he compares nicely to both box-to-box midfielders that seek out space in the final third like İlkay Gündoğan and Nicolo Barella; but also those that excel in dribbling into space like Federico Valverde and Eberechi Eze.

He ranks quite high on his progressive carries (2.15 per 90) and has boasted a near 60% dribble success rate across the past four seasons with the Seagulls. When he then sees the right moment to play a teammate into space, he’s never shy about taking the opportunity.

This is one of the key strengths to Mac Allister. While he’s excellent at taking space and driving at the opposition, he’s also superb at letting others do the same through his ability to pick out a pass from anywhere on the field. It’s a trait that few others in a box-to-box role possess, and so it’s easy to see why Potter transferred those sharp passing skills over to deeper positions on the field.

His 68% long pass success rate, combined with a 66% dribble rate and above average offensive-duelling percentages (52%) all make him an anomaly when compared to players in any of our midfield roles. He’s more progressive with his carrying and dribbling than ‘Tempo Setters’ like Christian Eriksen, more combative and physical than ‘Midfield Maestros’ like Bernardo Silva, and superior with his eye for a pass in comparison to ‘Box-to-Box’ movers and shakers like Jude Bellingham. Again, this is an all in one signing that will be so valuable to Liverpool.

Moving all the way into the final third, it would be difficult for the Argentinean to beat his tally of 10 goals in 35 appearances for Brighton this campaign. Six of those goals came from the spot, yet Mac Allister still ranks within the top 1% of midfielders on ‘shots’ (everybody!!) and the top 4% on non-penalty xG. He’s a super clean striker of the ball, awesome at all the cool things like volleys and free kicks, but also just keenly aware of how and when to take up positions on the pitch to get himself into optimal scoring positions.

Embed from Getty Images

This will go a long way at a club like Liverpool, where runners from midfield have historically not added much to the goal tallies at the club. Before you scream – “WIJNALDUM!!”, the Dutchman’s best goal tally at the club came in his first season, where he netted 6 goals. If you have a player from midfield taking close to 2.5 shots a game because of the positions he’s able to take up in the final third, you can naturally expect that to increase.

This is such a superb signing from the Reds. BUT WAIT. There’s more. Mac Allister also offers reassurances on the defensive end of the pitch and perfectly fits Liverpool’s pressing personas.

DEFENSIVE PRINCIPLES

Embed from Getty Images

I’d speculate the other key reason why Potter played Mac Allister as the ‘6’ came down to his immaculate ball-winning alongside Caicedo. The Argentinean is a natural aggressor, who likes to assert himself (when safe to do so!). But those incredible perceptions of space continue into the defensive phase, where he became critical to covering spaces in behind.

Not all the time, but Brighton often adopted a man-to-man approach. This meant suddenly you could have a player like Adam Webster shifting up the field with an attacking player coming in deep to receive the ball. Who always stuck to the task of screening in behind and maintaining that balance? Alexis Mac Allister! (and Moises Caicedo too).

Mac Allister’s reading of the game means that he knows when it’s advantageous to continue man-marking, and when he needs to fill a gap created within his defensive line. His lateral shuffling and vertical shuttling of the play is important as an ‘8’, but this ability to cover spaces in behind when necessary was critical in helping to form Brighton’s defensive record.

It’s not the kind of defensive aggression and reading of the game that will lead to an abundance of tackles and interceptions. But it’s the kind of defensive pressure that forces opposition teams to change their attacking plans in the moment because they can no longer progress down the avenue they intended to. Even then, as a ‘6’, he was making a ton of tackles and recoveries at the start of the season.

Embed from Getty Images

You could say he’s weak in the air, but he’s 5’8 and a midfielder that won’t need to contest a ton of aerial battles. Wyscout and FBRef also disagree by a difference of 38% and 61% on aerial duel success, so we’re not sure who to trust. On the eye test, Mac Allister actually made himself useful on quite a few corner kicks this season as a surprise near-post flick-on target. Physicality is always more important than height in those equations, and so Mac Allister will likely win more aerial and defensive battles than he loses across the board.

Embed from Getty Images

If Liverpool then suddenly want more of a destroyer to play in their ‘6’ position, he’ll be the best option to fill that void too. This is where we remind you that he looks likely to go for £35 million.

CONCLUSION

Embed from Getty Images

Alexis Mac Allister for £35 million is one of the steals of the year, and the type of signing that could even allow the Reds to sign two more midfielders for the price that they would have paid for someone like Rice, Caicedo or Bellingham. He can play anywhere in that midfield anyway you want to slice the watermelon, especially due to the vast array of strengths and traits he possesses. Liverpool must make this signing today, or else someone else will.

---

• WordPress
• Facebook
• X
• Instagram
• LinkedIn

Search

Search