Florian Wirtz’s decision to sign for Liverpool instead of Manchester City was one of the biggest transfer stories of the summer.
Wirtz was unconvinced about joining Manchester City as he was unsure about how the Sky Blues’ future would look if Pep Guardiola decided to bid farewell to the Premier League after his contract expires in 2027.
Ultimately, City decided to sign Rayan Cherki, a player Guardiola admires and who also has the potential to become a superstar in a similar vein to the German international.
Despite Wirtz being a top-class player, he is yet to take English football by storm as he is still seemingly adapting to life under Arne Slot.
Man City made a mistake by not signing Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister
While the Bundesliga winner could go on to become one of the best players in the Premier League, Manchester City’s actual regret should be missing out on the signing of Alexis Mac Allister.
Manchester City were keen on signing Mac Allister when he was still at Brighton & Hove Albion but ultimately, he ended up joining Liverpool in the summer of 2023.
Alexis Mac Allister celebrates during Liverpool v Tottenham
Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images
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Since then, the Argentine has etched his reputation as one of the best midfielders in Europe and had City signed him two years ago, he would have been the ideal successor to Ilkay Gundogan.
Jurgen Klopp compared Mac Allister to Gundogan and instead of securing his services, Manchester City snapped up Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes in the same summer — two players who have not even come close to reaching the heights the now-Galatasaray technician did at the Etihad Stadium.
Kovacic has been a serviceable addition but Tijjani Reijnders is likely to remain Pep Guardiola’s go-to man in the number eight role while Guardiola claimed Nunes suits the full-back position instead of his natural role in midfield.
While Reijnders could go on to replace Gundogan adeptly, Manchester City could have saved time and money by signing Mac Allister in 2023 due to his various similarities to the five-time Premier League winner.
Technically gifted
Expansive passer
Adept at controlling the tempo of games
Dangerous in the final third
The Liverpool midfielder instantly hit the ground running at Anfield due to his experience of playing in England at Brighton and much like Gundogan, he can do a job as a number 10 and in defensive midfield despite being a number eight by trade.
Jude Bellingham unintentionally helped Liverpool gain edge in Alexis Mac Allister race
However, the Reds managed to snap the World Cup winner up and since his arrival, the £35 million (Sky Sports) man has been a bargain addition.
Manchester City prioritised the signing of Jude Bellingham as well as Kovacic at the time instead of ramping up their pursuit of Mac Allister, which gave Liverpool the edge in the race for his signature.
GRV Media’s transfer expert Graeme Bailey revealed in June 2023: “I think there was only, from what I’m told, there was only City who could have challenged them for this, but City have gone for Kovacic, Bellingham didn’t happen so Phillips hasn’t gone yet.”
Bailey added: “So, I think with City not pushing hard on him, I think Liverpool was his first choice.”