David Ornstein says Liverpool are looking likely to make ‘complicated’ £70m signing this summer

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Liverpool have a ‘very good chance’ of signing Alexis Mac Allister this summer, despite a ‘complicated’ clause in his contract.

That’s according to journalist David Ornstein. Ornstein has previously reported on the presence of a specific transfer related clause in Mac Allister’s Brighton contract. And speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s FIVE YouTube channel yesterday, the journalist attempted to clear up the slightly confusing matter – with not too much success.

“It’s intricate from what I hear, it’s complex and it’s detailed and complicated,” said the reporter. “I don’t know the ins and outs of it. But what it does show us is that there is a method that can assist in the departure of Alexis Mac Allister this summer. And that increases the likelihood that he’ll be leaving.

“Rather than Brighton saying what they said with Moises Caicedo in January – ‘he’s not going anywhere,’ I think Mac Allister will. So, with some of these situations, you might get a clause in the contract but the club who holds the player and the player themselves agree that if they can get a higher fee, they will. Agreements can be struck that mean the release clause is not always what it might appear to be.”

Although that doesn’t exactly make the picture clearer for Liverpool fans, Ornstein did deliver some good news, too.

“I think there’s a very good chance, clearly, that Liverpool will see out the signing of Alexis Mac Allister,” he claimed. “But I don’t think they’re only club interested in him!”

Good signs for Liverpool transfer business

As far as transfer reliability goes, even the renowned Fabrizio Romano defers to Ornstein. The journalist tends to have his finger right on the pulse of the window.

So, if he’s confident that Liverpool will get the deal for Mac Allister done and dusted, then that’s very positive news. The exact nature of this mysterious clause is cause for slight concern. His reported £70m asking price is, too. But it doesn’t seem to be deterring the Reds.

That wasn’t the only bit of news Ornstein delivered during his appearance on FIVE, though. He also touched on Liverpool’s push to sign Chelsea’s Mason Mount.

“Mason Mount is a player that Liverpool have definitely made attempts to sign,” he said. “That would be a ferocious contest, not only about whether he might leave, but also whether he could ultimately decide to stay and Chelsea finally come to an agreement with him.”

Again, more evidence – if any were needed – that Mount is a very real target for Liverpool. That doesn’t sound like an easy one to get done, though.

Still, as we edge closer to the summer, these two players and Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch seem to be the Reds’ main priorities.

Plenty will be happy with that, others will maybe still feel the need to sign a bigger, more physical presence in the midfield.

There’s plenty of time for that still to come in the window. For now, it’s just nice to see some genuine moves being made.