Alexis Mac Allister was the odd man out at the start of the season for Liverpool.
The Argentine found himself in limbo ahead of the new campaign kicking off. Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai signed new, improved deals at Anfield while Curtis Jones was set to join Inter Milan. It meant that, of the title winning-midfield from 2024/25, Mac Allister was the only one not to have his long-term future sorted out.
With new manager Andoni Iraola favouring a double pivot in midfield that was dependent on high energy, and the fact Mac Allister returned late from World Cup duty, the expectation was that he would be a rotation option this term alongside highly rated youngster Trey Nyoni, filling in for Szoboszlai and Gravenberch.
The view would then be for Mac Allister to be sold next summer, amid Liverpool links for Lamine Camara. Mac Allister himself fanned those flames recently when revealing that he hadn’t been offered a new deal.
For all intents and purposes, Liverpool had made their decision. The future of their midfield was Gravenberch and Szoboszlai. So why, as we head into October, is Mac Allister the team’s most important midfielder?
Return of the Mac
There were question marks and concerns over Mac Allister last season. He struggled with fitness and form. He wasn’t the only Liverpool player, granted, but his drop-off was quite stark. It wasn’t even the form element of it, it was the fitness aspect of it all.
At no point of the campaign did the 27-year-old look close to being fit. And even though Arne Slot tried to play Mac Allister into form, it just never happened.
Some queried whether the last couple of years, playing the amount of football he had done, had taken it out of him. What didn’t help was the variety of positions he was given under the Dutchman last term in a struggling team.
Despite playing for Argentina at the World Cup, Mac Allister looks refreshed and reinvigorated. Iraola trusts him to carry out the double pivot role and he’s enjoying life there.
Mac Allister is more involved than he previously was and he’s making smarter decisions in possession. He’s keeping things ticking over – finding a teammate with 88% of his attempted passes. And he, once again, has the knack for being in the right place at the right time.
He’s keeping things simple but it’s exactly what Liverpool need from their Argentinian maestro as they look to give others a platform to thrive.
Balancing the midfield
When Iraola made the decision to give Mac Allister a rest against Fulham in mid-September, it exposed the midfield.
The Spaniard paired Gravenberch and Szoboszlai in midfield and the duo won just five of their 17 attempted duels. The team looked open without the ball and blunt with it.
And it’s easy to see why this might be the case. Mac Allister has scaled pretty much all of his on-ball numbers this season while reducing his offensive output. Iraola is playing to the Argentine’s strengths and this just so happens to help balance everything else in the team.
Mac Allister is winning his duels, he’s winning his tackles, he’s retaining the ball and he’s progressing play. He’s also dominating and creating space.
His performances are putting the likes of Szoboszlai and Gravenberch to shame. His showings are making Richard Hughes’ decision to reward those two while overlooking Mac Allister look like yet another misstep.
Adapting to Iraola-ball
When Slot arrived on Merseyside, he made it clear he didn’t fancy Mac Allister in a deeper role. He used Ryan Gravenberch as the anchor and moved the Argentine higher up the pitch. He also had him filling in for Florian Wirtz as an attacking midfielder at times last term.
Iraola, however, sees Mac Allister as someone who can operate in the deeper phases of play. Against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup, he even used youngster James McConnell as an attacking midfielder and paired Mac Allister with Nyoni. It would’ve been easy for Iraola to use Mac Allister as an offensive threat in a young team. But he values what the Argentine can do with and without the ball.
He’s impressed in possession this term but the biggest impact he’s had on this team has been without the ball. He’s joint top for tackles in a team that is now keeping clean sheets. This doesn’t feel like a play for a new contract. It feels like the new manager is making the most of his skills.