Former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson makes Alexis Mac Allister claim
Liverpool started their midfield rebuild with the successful acquisition of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton and Hove Albion earlier this summer. The 24-year-old Argentine international joined the Reds to bring a creative aspect to the table for the team in the middle of the park. But reality has hit different in the early part of his Liverpool career.
Jurgen Klopp is predominantly playing him as a #6, possibly due to the lack of depth when it comes to that position. After we lost Fabinho to Al Ittihad earlier in the transfer window, the Reds roped in Wataru Endo from Stuttgart, but he has remained a squad option until now.
With Macca playing as a #6, we have Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch or Curtis Jones playing in front of him to form the midfield trio. However, it is worth noting that Mac Allister’s best skill, which is offering creativity on the ball, is often taking the back seat. While he has been pretty decent in that defensive midfield role considering that it is not his natural role, both Liverpool and Macca could reap the benefits if he plays advanced roles.
Former Red Glen Johnson echoes this opinion and says that Mac Allister is ‘being wasted’ in the defensive midfield role. Here is what he told Betfred via ECHO:
“He’s being wasted in that role and I don’t think he wants to play there, so credit to him for doing a job for the team.”
“He’s good enough to play in that position here and there, but it’s not fitting of his attributes because he’s more of a clever player that gets in between the lines and has an attacking brain, so I don’t think he wants to do it, but the team needs him to do it at the minute.”
To give this scenario a broader context, Macca had ten goals and two assists from 35 league appearances for the Seagulls last season. And here, because he is playing deeper, he has only managed one assist from 11 appearances in the league.
What next for Alexis?
Playing an unnatural role for a substantial period of time has shown its effect on Macca already as he has accumulated five yellow cards already, going into tackles when that is not what we signed him for. His fifth yellow, coming against Luton Town last week now means that he will not be a part of the matchday squad for the league clash against Brentford, serving a suspension.
As Johnson rightly pointed out, for Mac Allister to thrive in the Liverpool jersey, the Reds, spearheaded by Jurgen Klopp need to address a void in their midfield. That is signing a top-class defensive midfielder or trusting Wataru Endo to do a top job in the middle of the park, which he is surely capable of.
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As we approach the January transfer window, we can hope that Klopp and Co. have a few targets on their radar who could help unlock the potential of the players playing around them as well. As Liverpool fans, the hope remains that the Argentine’s undeniable creativity will be fully harnessed to propel the team to new heights.
