BINH DUONG
Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has become Liverpool's first signing of the summer. Manager Jurgen Klopp has identified the Argentine international as a top priority in rebuilding the Anfield team's midfield after a disappointing season.
Allister will continue to wear the number 10 shirt at his new team Liverpool. Photo: Twitter
Joining the “Red Brigade” on a 5-year contract worth 55 million pounds ended a quite successful 2022-2023 season for Allister when he won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina and helped Brighton FC participate in the European Cup for the first time.
Born into a footballing family, Allister's father was a left-back who played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors and the Argentina national team; while his uncle also played for Argentinos Juniors. Argentinos Juniors is the birthplace of great Argentine football names such as the legendary Diego Maradona, Juan Roman Riquelme and Fernando Redondo. Allister's father used to tell his children stories about the times he played football with the late Maradona. Like his two older brothers, young Allister dreamed of following in his father's footsteps.
By the age of 17, Allister had made his Argentinos Juniors first team debut, scoring three goals in 24 games, helping the club gain promotion. His 12 goals and nine assists in 83 appearances for Argentinos Juniors brought Allister to the attention of Brighton’s South American scouts. Brighton’s data-driven approach also identified Allister as a young talent to watch closely.
In early 2019, Brighton signed Allister for £8 million but still let him play for Argentinos Juniors on loan. At the end of the season, but because Allister did not have an EU passport and had not been granted a work permit to play in England, the club loaned the star to Boca Juniors for a season. Allister scored on his debut in the Copa Libertadores, Europe's equivalent of the Champions League. After many times shining as a midfielder at Boca Juniors, Allister was called up to the Argentina national team for a friendly against Chile in December 2019. At Boca Juniors, Allister was famous as a dead ball specialist. Brighton was so impatient at the time that they decided to compensate Boca Juniors £785,000 to bring Allister back. Allister inherited the number 10 shirt and officially debuted for Brighton in a draw with Wolves in March 2020.
Allister initially had to compete for a starting spot, but the 24-year-old central midfielder has really broken through in the 2021-22 season. He contributed 5 goals and 2 assists in the Premier League, helping Brighton finish 9th, up 7 places from the previous season. At the recent World Cup, only 6 Argentinians played more minutes than Allister did, with 550 minutes played.
Allister distributes the ball intelligently and is tireless. However, he also has an eye for goal, becoming the Seagulls' top scorer in 2022-23 with 12 goals in 40 games in all competitions, bringing the team a ticket to the European Cup (Europa League) for the first time in history. In 3 and a half years at Brighton, Allister has only missed 4 domestic matches due to injury or illness, showing his remarkable consistency.
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