The ECHO's Liverpool writers assess what should happen next with Alexis Mac Allister
Alexis Mac Allister is back at Liverpool but questions remain over his future
Alexis Mac Allister is back at Liverpool but questions remain over his future (Image: Nikki Dyer/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
View Image
Alexis Mac Allister is back in Liverpool training and could play some part against Como this weekend.
The Reds have two games against Cesc Fabregas' side on Sunday, the first of which is behind closed doors and only available on the club's official TV station.
Mac Allister, having returned earlier this week following a post-World Cup vacation, should play some part in one of the pre-season friendlies, with the second match slated for a 6pm kick-off at Anfield.
But what of his long-term future? The World Cup runner-up has been linked speculatively with a move away from the club - but what should Liverpool be thinking at this stage where the former Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder is concerned?
The ECHO's Liverpool writers take a closer look at the situation.
Paul Gorst
The major question facing Alexis Mac Allister - and several of his Liverpool colleagues, in fairness - is how much of his underwhelming campaign resulted simply from the circumstances of a team in a tailspin?
So many across the entirety of the 25/26 term under Arne Slot were able to show a true reflection of their talent and Mac Allister, in the eyes of many at least, was one of the biggest offenders.
This viewpoint reportedly irked the Argentina international during the season and it was noticeable how much more comfortable he looked playing for Argentina at the World Cup, where they were beaten finalists to Spain.
So was Mac Allister's year simply a one-off and indicative of Liverpool's wider troubles? Or was it more reflective of a player beginning a gradual decline?
That, in essence, is the question Liverpool are now having to wrestled with.
In the three seasons as a Reds player, it would be fair to say last term was the outlier.
He has normally been a beacon of consistency in the engine room. He was excellent in the first season under Slot, helping to power the team to the Premier League title and his presence in the 23/24 year was a reassuring one as Jurgen Klopp overhauled his midfield.
At the age of 27, Mac Allister is nowhere near the sort of realms that can see players dramatically and suddenly drop off, so the belief simply has to be that he was, like most of his team-mates, simply caught in the maelstrom of a season where everything that could go wrong did.
He remains a popular figure inside the AXA Training Centre and if Andoni Iraola is right about this season being a clean slate then Mac Allister deserves that grace as much as anyone else. He will surely get back to his best this time out at Anfield.
Theo Squires
If Liverpool want to avoid Alexis Mac Allister becoming the latest star to walk away for a cut-price fee or on a Bosman transfer, this summer is the opportune time to cash in. The Argentine has two years left on his contract and will turn 28 in December. We're in prime selling territory.
However, the Reds have been here before. You wonder how many rueful looks were had towards Munich across last season as Luis Diaz enjoyed the best year of his career after leaving Anfield.
It would have to be an eye-catching bid to tempt Liverpool into selling, like the £65m they received for Diaz last summer. But given Mac Allister's struggles last season, receiving such a sizeable offer currently seems unlikely. Besides, Curtis Jones currently looks the more likely midfield departee.
While Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai have been handed improved, extended contracts, Mac Allister is yet to join them. That little bit older than the aforementioned pair, it is not hard to imagine his Reds career coming to an end by the summer of 2028.
As it stands, in part down to being the latest returnee to pre-season training due to his World Cup exploits, he is not starting the season as first-choice. Szoboszlai and Gravenberch will be the deeper pairing and Andoni Iraola already declaring his preference to field Florian Wirtz at number 10.
But when Liverpool's midfield was at its strongest under Jurgen Klopp, the Reds were able to call upon more than one first-choice trio with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Gini Wijnaldum complemented by James Milner, Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara. Iraola will need plenty of quality options himself, especially after conceding his squad's fitness levels are not currently where he needs them to be.
One bad season does not make Mac Allister a bad player. Let us not forget he is a World Cup winner, back-to-back finalist, and was a star player under Arne Slot as the Reds won the Premier League title.
If he can rediscover such form, he will be just as vital under Iraola. Yes, he has a point to prove in the season ahead. But so do many after Liverpool's struggles last season.
Admittedly, his Reds career is probably closer to its end rather than beginning. But barring an offer to good to refuse, Mac Allister's Liverpool story should not be over just yet.