Alexis Mac Allister has told Liverpool exactly who his perfect midfield partner would be and Reds almost signed him

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Liverpool’s midfield has been a huge part of the reason the Reds stand on the verge of winning the Premier League title.

Rewind two years, and that did not look like it would be the case for a long while. After a dismal season, it was clear that Liverpool could not continue with the options they had under Jurgen Klopp.

Having not signed a new player in the middle of the pitch since 2018, Liverpool were fading badly. A huge overhaul was needed.

To the eternal credit of Klopp and stand-in sporting director Jorg Schmadtke, the Reds pulled off a masterclass in the transfer market, signing Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch.

Two years on and three of that four make up Arne Slot’s first choice Liverpool midfield. However, they were not the only players Klopp and Schmadtke were keen to bring in.

Before they plumped for the surprise addition of Endo, Liverpool had been trying to sign Moises Caicedo for more than £100m. And although Caicedo stood firm in his desire to join Chelsea, Mac Allister has now highlighted why Liverpool should regret missing out on the Ecuadorian.

Liverpool missed out on dream midfield partnership

Given how good Mac Allister and Gravenberch in particular have been this season, it may feel wrong to pine for another midfielder.

However, the latter of that pair has been playing a role he was never supposed to. As a result, some would argue that Slot still needs that elite defensive midfielder to free Gravenberch up.

As he has shown at Chelsea this term, Caicedo could – probably should – have been that player. Liverpool left it too late before going all in on the 23-year-old in 2023, with Chelsea having already convinced him of a future at Stamford Bridge.

But as Mac Allister hinted while speaking to Sky Sports this week, he and Caicedo together could have been simply unstoppable at Anfield.

READ MORE: How likely Liverpool are to target Adam Wharton or Carlos Baleba as midfield transfer plan emerges

“I shared a dressing room with Moi, fantastic player, really good physically,” Mac Allister said on Caicedo, before ranking him as a tougher opponent than Declan Rice and Rodri. “I always thought he was going to be amazing.”

“I would put Moi Caicedo first [as toughest opponent], he is very complete, on and off the ball he is really, really good.”

Mac Allister and Caicedo would have dominated

It remains to be seen whether Liverpool look for another option to complement Mac Allister in a deeper-lying role. For the time being it is hard to argue that they could find better than Gravenberch.

But had they followed through with their plan to sign Caicedo, it’s likely that Liverpool would have signed the Dutchman anyway. Four midfielders had always seemed like the plan.

If the Reds had a Mac Allister and Caicedo axis with Gravenberch supplementing, they would be in incredible shape for the present and future.

There would be no need for transfer business for years to come, with Caicedo and Gravenberch still just 22 and 23 respectively.

Obviously, this is never going to happen now, no matter how highly Mac Allister rates his former teammate. But it is just another window into why Liverpool felt the urge to smash their transfer record in order to sign Caicedo. What a midfield that would have been.