Liverpool are ‘100 per cent’ interested in signing Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton, but may not want to pay his £70m asking price.
That’s according to journalist David Lynch. Speaking to Football Insider yesterday, Lynch claimed that should they land Jude Bellingham, Liverpool won’t want to pay any further massive fees.
“I think beyond Bellingham they’re not going to want to spend utterly crazy amounts,” said the journalist. “[Moises] Caicedo is another they’ve looked at, who would probably be expensive, even more so that he’s just signed that new contract.
“Adding Bellingham and then a Caicedo or Mac Allister, if he’s going to be around that £70m mark, is possibly a bit unrealistic. They are probably going to try and get under that if they can.
“On Mac Allister, I think 100 per cent he’s someone they’d like – he is someone they like, someone they’ve looked at. But I look at his qualities and if you look at that Argentina midfield at the World Cup that he was part of, really it was a very solid foundation and base, a functional midfield that was providing a platform for the attacking players. That really fits the Liverpool mould. But I think they would think ‘if we’re going to get a player who does that you could probably get him from elsewhere for less than £70m.’
“If you’re looking for a player who covers ground well, box-to-box, brings energy to the midfield, you could probably get him for cheaper and Brighton are probably a bit of a nightmare to deal with to be honest. So that’s something that could possibly put them off.”
Liverpool looking for more value in the market
We’re sorry, but there’s no way that Brighton get anything like £70m for Mac Allister this summer. We’ll happily be proven wrong, but it seems an incredibly fanciful valuation from the Seagulls.
Yes, he has qualities and yes, he’s a World Cup winner. But as Lynch alludes to, he is a relatively functional player. As Argentina’s – and Liverpool’s – success has proven, those are very valuable. The Reds appear to think so too. Mac Allister’s father was reportedly a guest at Anfield recently. But £70m? Come on, Mr Bloom.
Of course, that may well be the whole point. Brighton are upwardly mobile and should have their eyes on the Premier League’s European spots. They want to keep hold of their best talents, of which Mac Allister is one. That’s fair enough. Should a big side come in for the 24-year-old though, he’s unlikely to be impressed at being priced out of a move.
If you’re valuing players at £70m+, you’ve got to pay them £70m+ wages. Right now, Brighton surely aren’t in a position to do that. Liverpool, as well as most elite level clubs, are.
So, kudos to Brighton for being difficult for the big clubs to deal with in the transfer market. But as the hype dies down from his role in Argentina’s trophy win, we can’t see how there’s any justification to this price-tag. For the record, we think he’d be a superb signing for Liverpool who could be exactly what they need. But not at that price.