The father of reported Liverpool target Alexis Mac Allister has admitted that he’s been taking calls about his son’s availability.
Mac Allister’s star has risen dramatically this season. Now a World Cup winner and a regular with Argentina, he has perhaps – with all due respect- started to outgrow Brighton.
As a result, plenty of top clubs – including Liverpool – have been linked with a move for Mac Allister this summer. And according to his father Carlos, who’s also a former footballer, interested sides have begun to get in contact.
“Clubs are starting to call us for Alexis but there are no concrete talks now,” he told ESPN Argentina via 90min. “We’ll decide together with Brighton, they deserve respect. We will pick the best project, based on the coach too — it’s not about money.”
Mac Allister has shown that he is ready for a step up next season. You’d imagine there’s quite a queue forming for his services. As ever though, Brighton won’t go down easily.
Mac Allister ready to make next step
On paper, Mac Allister looks to be the ideal kind of player for Liverpool’s midfield. Industrious and full of running, he’s good going forward and sturdy in more defensive phases.
At twenty-four he’s in the kind of age bracket that the Reds like to shop in and has room for Jurgen Klopp to develop him further. Perfect. Well, not quite.
The catch here is the selling club. If Mac Allister was playing outside of the Premier League right now, Liverpool would probably fancy their chances of signing him.
But Brighton are, to put it bluntly, a bit of a nightmare to deal with. For a start, they’ve reportedly slapped a £70m price-tag on Alexis. Fair game, they might think, for a World Cup-winner. Enzo Fernandez has just gone for over £100m and he’s far less experienced than Mac Allister.
But this is still a player with less than 100 Premier League games under his belt. Prior to this season, no club would have looked at Mac Allister for even half of Brighton’s valuation.
Of course, you have to tip your hat to them for some great work in the transfer market. They are entitled to price their players at however they fancy and they likely won’t want to lose him. But there comes a point where if you demand such fees, players won’t want to join. The Seagulls should be wary of that. Reports have claimed that Alexis would be open to a move. Brighton should bear that in mind.