Alexis Mac Allister has been one of many Liverpool players to struggle for form this season
Alexis Mac Allister of Liverpool and Argentina
Alexis Mac Allister of Liverpool and Argentina(Image: Marcos Brindicci/Getty Images)
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For a long time, it was an image that would have sent Liverpool supporters into meltdown. But that there has barely been a ripple at the sight of Alexis Mac Allister posing in a Real Madrid shirt underlines how perceptions have shifted for the midfielder this season.
Mac Allister posted the photograph of him wearing a retro Zinedine Zidane shirt on social media this week as part of a series of pictures that also highlighted a fresh appearance having shaven his head before international duty with Argentina.
And Liverpool fans will now be hoping for a new look from the 27-year-old on the pitch following a worrying campaign for both player and club.
To think it was less than 12 months ago that Mac Allister thumped in the goal that effectively sealed the Premier League title by putting Arne Slot's side ahead in their 5-1 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur at a rocking Anfield.
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The Argentine, though, didn't start another game that campaign as he nursed an injury that ultimately disrupted his pre-season and left him playing catch-up in terms of sharpness and fitness.
Nevertheless, that hasn't prevented Mac Allister featuring in all bar two games this term, with only one absence - the win at Newcastle United in August - due to an injury issue.
That said, it wasn't until November he managed to last a full 90 minutes when setting up a strike for Ryan Gravenberch in the 2-0 Premier League victory over Aston Villa at the end of a good week in which Mac Allister also scored the only goal in the Champions League triumph against Real Madrid.
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But that profitable period was a brief aberration during a first half of the season in which the midfielder at times visibly lacked intensity in the engine room. The drop-off, as with Liverpool as a whole, was prominent.
Hardly the most outspoken of players, that Mac Allister saw fit in January to question the breadth of the squad overhaul last summer clearly hinted at a reason behind the collective and individual struggles.
"Many things have changed from last season and it is not ideal,“ he said. "New players came in to replace those who left, we changed too many things, but I prefer to keep it to myself.
"It is quite clear we have amazing players, it is just about becoming a team, that is what we need. I feel like we all need to get better and that will raise our level.”
While chopping and changing certain areas of the team, Reds boss Slot has clearly not lost faith in Mac Allister with the Argentine having featured for all bar a handful of minutes during the last 13 games. Usually that has been alongside Ryan Gravenberch as the established base of the midfield, although Mac Allister has been operating in a more advanced role on occasion.
And there have been some flickers of a return to his old self, scoring in successive wins over Nottingham Forest and West Ham United and impressing in the home Champions League romps against Qarabag and Galatasaray. Yet consistency of performance continues to elude Mac Allister.
That the World Cup is imminent is playing on the minds of many players. South Americans in particular hold great stock in the tournament, with Mac Allister having the extra pressure of being part of an Argentina side looking to retain the trophy he helped win four years ago.
But the real intrigue for Liverpool fans is over his contract. Gravenbech signed a long-term deal in March while Dominik Szoboszlai is in talks and has made clear his desire to stay. But while Mac Allister, similar to the duo, joined in the summer of 2023, he has shown no inclination to enter negotiations despite approaching the last two years of his current agreement.
“We are not in contract talks," he admitted three weeks ago. "But I’m not in a rush.”
Aged 27, Mac Allister perhaps has one major contract left in his career. And with Real Madrid having long been rumoured as keeping tabs on his situation, a good World Cup could ramp up both his value and interest from the Bernabeu or other potential suitors.
That, though, is for later. Despite such a disappointing campaign, there remains much for Liverpool to play for during the final two months.
They resume on Saturday with an FA Cup quarter-final showdown at League Cup winners Manchester City before a last eight clash against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. There is also the small matter of ensuring a top-five finish and retaining a place at Europe's top table for next season.
Mac Allister is going to be needed. And the undoubted desire to hit the ground running in the forthcoming World Cup could ultimately be of benefit to Liverpool - for this season at least.