Welcome To Liverpool, Alexis "Gary" Mac Allister

Midfield maestro, only with hair

Welcome To Liverpool, Alexis "Gary" Mac Allister

In this article I'll take a look at the Reds' new cut-price signing, and also share the scouting report from last month by Mizgan Masani from our purely-analysis Substack, Deep Dives and Transfer Hub.

Scouting Report: Alexis Mac Allister - Shot Monster, Progressive Runner & Tactically Intelligent

Ali Ali Mac

Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool 2.0 (assuming that what he inherited was not his Liverpool 1.0 but Brendan Rodgers' mixed-up mess, as it had become) began to take shape after the shoeing at Brighton in January, orchestrated by the man swapping the Amex for Anfield, for a cut-price fee.

Back then, Cody Gakpo, 23, had just come into the side as a winger before emerging as an elite false 9, and Ben Doak, 17, came on as a sub. But the weeks and months that followed showed it to be a turning point, as indeed it felt it had to be at the time.

Ibrahima Konaté, 23, became a leader at the back. Stefan Bajcetic, 18, soon became a midfield fixture until injury, and by the spring the 24-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold went from peripherally influential to globally influential in terms of the dimensions of the pitch. Harvey Elliott, 19, grew into the season (and will surely continue to improve season upon season to have done so much before turning 20 in April), and Curtis Jones, 22, belatedly exploded into it, after a year of stress fracture issues.

The future was half in place, with other youngsters set to emerge and to return from loan to supplement a small essential core of the old guard; but the new signings need to be ready now, and of a good age.

Bar a possible freebie in their late 20s, the focus has to be on 25-and-under, where possible, without going too young and raw if the first team is the immediate destination.

To me, Alexis Mac Allister has personality and grit, to go with style and substance.

Interestingly, Mizgan's comparison of the data showed an uncanny similarity between Mac Allister's numbers (in an inferior side, but one with similar possession levels) and those of İlkay Gündoğan; albeit the latter scored more from open play, and Mac Allister excelled more in duels.

It's rare to see such similar templates, and Gündoğan was an outstanding player for Jürgen Klopp, and has been one for Manchester City too.

Nearly 33, Gündoğan is likely to join Barcelona; Liverpool have gained the next-best thing, a healthy nine years his junior, with scope to improve rather than melt.

The fee may seem like a steal, but Brighton were eight months away from losing him for free; as such, they did well to get around £35m, and it was good of him to them to sign the deal in the autumn rather than walk away this summer for free.

The rest of this article and the republishing of Mizgan’s detailed scouting report is for paying subscribers only.