'He's showed the different facets of his game' - an expert's view on Alexis Mac Allister
Alexis Mac Allister will bring immense amounts of quality, versatility and humility to Liverpool, according to a long-time follower of the Argentina international.
To get a further lowdown on the Reds' new No.10, Liverpoolfc.com spoke to Dan Edwards, a football journalist based in Buenos Aires and fan of the midfielder's former club, Brighton & Hove Albion.
Read on to learn about Mac Allister's many tactical roles for various sides, his influence in Argentina's World Cup success, and how his selflessness allows other teammates to flourish.
Firstly, how is Mac Allister viewed back in Argentina now after helping deliver the World Cup?
I wouldn't say he came from nowhere – he was known in Argentina, played for Boca and then got the move to the Premier League – but his profile has just absolutely exploded these last six, nine months. When anyone from here makes it, everyone's happy, they're just really glad to see people make that transition and do really well in their career. The consensus is that he's going to be a very, very important player for Argentina for a long time.
Obviously he comes from a footballing family, so was this rise always predicted for him?
It's always hard to predict just how much potential some of these kids have. I've been watching them for a long time and Alexis was another guy who came out of the academy of Argentinos Juniors, which has a long, long reputation for developing top talent – stretching right back to Diego Maradona. Guys like [Juan Roman] Riquelme, [Fernando] Redondo, [Esteban] Cambiasso, they've all come through that academy. Mac Allister actually got his start when Argentinos were down in the second division and was very important for them, even as an 18-, 19-year-old, to get them back up.
I think it was a bit of a surprise Brighton swooped for him so young when he was relatively untested. Then he had a loan at Boca, where he was decent [but] I wouldn't say he set the world on fire, playing very much like a No.10 or even a second striker. Ever since, Brighton and Argentina started moving him a little bit away from the opposition area and just allowing him to use the extensive set of tools he's got and his ability to get across the pitch. I think that's got the best out of him and where he feels most comfortable playing.
Do you want to just shed light on some of the roles he's played for club and country? He told us he can play in any position…
First of all, mentally that really does hold him in good stead because he's not one of these guys who's only going to want to play with a No.10 on his back or only just off the striker. He's so happy to fit in where he's needed and he does it very well. For Brighton, he's kind of shifted between two main roles – he's been partnering Moises Caicedo in the double pivot when Brighton have played 4-2-3-1 and he's also played a little bit further up the pitch in that central creative role in the same formation – and looked very good, using different facets of his game in each role.
For Argentina, it's a little bit different. During the World Cup, his primary position was kind of on the left side of Argentina's midfield three, which gave him a lot of freedom – possibly to combine those two roles he was doing at Brighton. It was an attacking and defensive position, going both ways and just being able to take advantage of maybe a little bit more space out wide. Overall, he's just very versatile. He's shown that he's not fazed by playing multiple roles and he'll slot in wherever the team needs him. Definitely as a central attacking midfielder, he's just doing really, really well.
Obviously he's got brilliant ability but is it fair to say he brings the best out of his teammates as well?
I think so. You can see how all of his teammates – both at Brighton and in Argentina – have gelled with him and how highly they speak of him that he's just a very, very good teammate. Very humble, not interested in taking all the glory for himself, just wants to get the best of those around him. That's helped him a lot. Tactically in this World Cup, him and Enzo Fernandez, they kind of brought a new dimension to this Argentina team that [Lionel] Messi, in particular, hasn't really had in a World Cup before – these midfielders who can go both ways, shield the defence, do the hard work but also get up into the opposition penalty area, put the killer ball in and just give Messi that creative support. He was crucial, absolutely crucial. His sudden appearance in that team after [Giovani] Lo Celso got injured just before the tournament and those struggles against Saudi Arabia that prompted a relook at the team, him coming through right at that time was just a godsend for Messi and Argentina.
Would you say he's somewhat of a manager's dream in that he's versatile, selfless and has a lot of quality?
I think so. He's the kind of player you'd always want available because he's versatile, can slot in three, possibly even four, different positions and not miss a beat. Also, there's just zero ego. He just wants to play football, wants to focus on his goals and he's been doing really well. So, I would absolutely want him down as one of the first names on my teamsheet.
So he's a player Liverpool fans definitely should be excited about...
I would be, yeah. If I had to put together a professional football team and had a pick of players, he'd definitely be one of the first ones on my list. He's a guy who very rarely misses games, can score goals, can set up goals, protect the defence, get up into the opposition area, play in these multiple roles in midfield, which is so important with so many games being played in modern football. To sum up, he's just a guy who's not going to let you down, and that's a player you want to get excited about.