Jurgen Klopp suggests people might be ‘surprised’ by where Alexis Mac Allister is playing in five years time

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Ever since he arrived at Liverpool, Alexis Mac Allister has faced questions over his role in the team.

It isn’t that anybody has truly been debating the 25-year-old’s quality – Mac Allister has made the step up from Brighton to Liverpool look remarkably easy.

But rather, having played most of the season in a previously unfamiliar defensive midfield position, some have wondered whether he is truly suitable for this.

Ask Jurgen Klopp though, and he’ll tell you that Mac Allister is about as suited as it gets to playing No.6 for his team. Answering a question along those lines in his pre-Luton Town press conference today, Klopp said that the Argentine’s ‘natural position’ could yet evolve even further.

“Alexis is incredibly important for us, he always was since he was here,” said the manager. “That he has the tactical brain to play different positions shows and says everything about him as a player. I don’t think he’s really bothered about playing a bit higher, we don’t restrict players in these moments. They have the ball, we all have to defend. We have the ball, we all have to attack.

“That’s how we understand football and Alexis is a key part of that. Ask me or him in five years again what is his natural position, maybe you will be surprised.”

Mac Allister ready for change in role

Mac Allister has been one of Liverpool’s best players since the turn of the year. Previously injured while Wataru Endo made the No.6 position his own, the World Cup winner has since returned and gone up a level or two himself.

But with Endo now back from international duty, the Japanese has slotted back in as the defensive lynchpin.

That has meant that for the past two games, Mac Allister has been playing further forward. To many – and maybe even to Macca himself – this would be his preferred role.

Initially, against Burnley last week, he struggled a little to adapt to the change in demands. Previously involved in every aspect of Liverpool’s build-up, the 25-year-old was anonymous for stretches of the play.

Asked to go again in the No.8 position on Saturday at Brentford though, and Mac Allister was so much better. He grabbed a deserved goal while also putting in the kind of shift we’d see from him in a deeper position.

Biting into tackles, winning possession back and affecting things higher up the pitch, Liverpool’s No.10 put in a complete display.

As Klopp mentions, this just goes to show the footballing intelligence of Mac Allister. The boss has previously referred to him as a ‘football doctor’ and that’s a neat little summation.

With those around him dropping like flies, it’s imperative that Macca stays fit over the coming weeks. He’s getting more integral as the games pass. If things continue in this way, maybe we’ll even see him slot in somewhere different.