Manchester United want to revamp their midfield in the summer transfer window but the latest name on the radar has shocked supporters.
Manchester United's interim head coach Michael Carrick
Manchester United's interim head coach Michael Carrick(Image: James Fearn/Getty Images)
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Manchester United should be thinking outside the box this summer as they look to revamp their midfield before the start of the 2026/27 season. Options are in short supply and the players who have been linked with the club have not exactly set the world alight this season.
Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson would all cost a considerable amount of money. United were quoted around the £100m mark for Baleba in the summer and it looks now like they were right to dodge that deal.
However, approaching Liverpool for Alexis Mac Allister is not the right course of action for United this summer. Before you even take into account Mac Allister's indifferent form this season, the warning signs are there.
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Not since Phil Chisnall in 1964 has a player moved between the two clubs directly. When Gabriel Heinze attempted to make the move, Sir Alex Ferguson didn't even entertain the prospect. "Gabriel was told, with no ambiguity, that historically Manchester United do not sell players to Liverpool, and vice versa," Ferguson would write in his autobiography.
There is a reason switches directly between the two clubs are so rare. Mac Allister would have to deal with the pressure of crossing the divide. Should he not hit the ground running, the 27-year-old would immediately be up against it with the fanbase.
Also, Liverpool are almost guaranteed to raise the asking price for Mac Allister just because it is United. The Reds would be left paying over the odds for the midfielder who is out of contract in 2028.
The price will go up solely because it is United and this would be the case no matter who the Reds were trying to lure from their bitter rivals. Sir Jim Ratcliffe once described United as being the 'dumb money' before investing in the club.
Mac Allister may well have been a great signing for United when he was at Brighton. They would be foolish to make a move for him now.