BINH DUONG
Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has just become Liverpool's first signing this summer. Manager Jurgen Klopp has identified the Argentinian international as a top priority in rebuilding the midfield at Anfield after a disappointing season.
Allister will continue to wear the number 10 shirt at his new club, Liverpool. Photo: Twitter
Joining the "Red Brigade" on a five-year contract worth £55 million capped off a fairly successful 2022-2023 season for Allister, as he helped Argentina win the 2022 World Cup and helped Brighton qualify for European competition for the first time.
Born into a family with a football tradition, Allister's father was a left-back who played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, and the Argentine national team; while his uncle also played for Argentinos Juniors. Argentinos Juniors is the club that produced great names in Argentine football such as the legend Diego Maradona, Juan Roman Riquelme, and Fernando Redondo. Allister's father used to tell his children about his times playing alongside the late Maradona. Like his two older brothers, young Allister dreamed of following in his father's footsteps.
By the age of 17, Allister made his first-team debut for Argentinos Juniors, scoring 3 goals in 24 games and contributing to the club's promotion. His 12 goals and 9 assists in 83 appearances for Argentinos Juniors put Allister on the radar of Brighton's South America scouts. Brighton's data-driven approach also identified Allister as a promising young talent to closely monitor.
In early 2019, Brighton signed Allister for £8 million but loaned him to Argentinos Juniors. At the end of the season, because Allister did not have an EU passport and had not been granted a work permit to play in England, his parent club loaned him to Boca Juniors for another season. Allister scored on his debut in the Copa Libertadores, the European equivalent of the Champions League. After several impressive performances as a midfielder for Boca Juniors, Allister was called up to the Argentina national team for a friendly against Chile in December 2019. At Boca Juniors, Allister became known as a set-piece specialist. Brighton, growing impatient, 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 against Wolves in March 2020.
Initially, Allister had to compete for a starting spot, but the 2021-2022 season saw a real breakthrough for the 24-year-old central midfielder. Allister contributed 5 goals and 2 assists in the Premier League, helping Brighton finish 9th, a 7-place improvement from the previous season. At the recent World Cup, only 6 Argentinian players played more minutes than Allister did, totaling 550 minutes.
Allister is intelligent in his ball distribution and tireless in his work. However, he also possesses a keen eye for goalscoring, becoming Brighton's top scorer in the 2022-2023 season with 12 goals in 40 matches across all competitions, securing the team's first-ever European qualification for the Europa League. In his three and a half years at Brighton, Allister only missed four domestic league matches due to injury or illness, demonstrating his remarkable consistency.
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