1 year ago
253 
Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
With Alexis Mac Allister officially a Red today, Jürgen Klopp talks about what his new midfield signing brings to the side.
Liverpool have made their first signing of the summer transfer window as Jürgen Klopp looks to rebuild an aging core and has identified Brighton and Argentina star Alexis Mac Allister as the man to construct his midfield around.
Alexis brings a flexible skillset to the club, a standout tactical and technical talent who is both highly press resistant and good at progressing play via passing or with the ball at his feet while having a exceptional engine and spotless injury record.
Add in World Cup success with Argentina and that at 24 years of age he should be on the verge of his prime years with room still to grow, and it’s impossible to fault the transfer of a player who could cost the Reds as little as £35M.
“I do not think the football world needs me to say too much about Alexis’ qualities because they are already pretty well known,” Klopp noted of his new midfielder, “but it is clear that he is someone who can play in a number of positions.
“An all-rounder, I would say. He is calm and composed and someone with proper game intelligence. We are adding a very talented, very smart, very technically skilled boy to our squad and this is super news, really it is.”
Mac Allister arrived in Europe in the summer of 2020 after Brighton signed him from Argentinos Juniors in January of 2019 but allowed him to remain first with his boyhood club and to then spend a spell on loan with Boca Juniors.
Since his arrival on the south coast, he has made 112 total appearances and been key to Brighton’s emergence as a solid Premier League side first under Graham Potter and most recently Roberto De Zerbi as they finished sixth this past season.
“I have watched him grow from a young boy coming into the Premier League to a man who helped his country win the World Cup,” Klopp added. “That is quite a journey, [and] I’m really happy his next steps will now be with us.
“We get to work with a player who is already excellent and experienced, but also has so much more to come given he is just 24 years old. He is just as excited to be joining and working with us and that already makes it a good partnership
“But there is no pressure on him. He is still so young, so it is obvious he will only improve and our job is to help him take the next steps. I am sure I speak for everyone here when I say I cannot wait to start working with Alexis.”
