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Why Liverpool have been able to sign Alexis Mac Allister for ‘bargain’ £45m
When Liverpool were still in the race to sign Jude Bellingham, it was widely expected that the England international would cost a world-record fee well in excess of £100m.
As a result, after the Reds withdrew interest in favour of signing a number of quality new midfielders rather than one marquee addition, supporters were understandably unimpressed when it emerged that Real Madrid were reportedly set to sign the 19-year-old for an initial £85m.
How could Liverpool not afford such a fee, was the simplistic question. After all, the Reds had committed to parting with a potential £85m to land Darwin Nunez only last summer. Yet, the agreed deal with Benfica cost £64m without add-ons. As a result, Virgil van Dijk currently remains the only player to have cost more than £65m in the club’s history.
Still, fees of £60m-£70m were still being branded about for the likes of rumoured targets Alexis Mac Allister and Mason Mount. Surely, even without the riches of Champions League football, it would not have been breaking the bank to stretch funds that little bit more to lure Bellingham to Anfield?
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Alas, Liverpool bosses had made up their mind. With a poor season highlighting the flaws in Klopp’s squad, Bellingham was off the table.
“It’s not about Jude Bellingham my answer now – why do we constantly talk about things we theoretically can’t have?” Klopp asked reporters in April, following confirmation that Liverpool wouldn’t be moving for the Borussia Dortmund star. “We cannot have six players in the summer for £100m [each], for example, everybody would say that’s clear.
“You have to realise what you can do and then work with that. How much money do we have available and then work with that.
“We are not children. Ask a five-year-old what they want for Christmas and they say a Ferrari, you wouldn’t say that’s a good idea, it’s too expensive and you cannot drive it.
“It’s what can you do and then you do it, and work with that. It’s always how I’ve worked. Whatever we need and what we want, we try absolutely everything to get it. You have to accept that this or that is not possible for us. We’ll step aside and do different stuff.”
Now, as Liverpool close in on a move for Mac Allister, after Brighton granted him permission to undergo a medical with the Reds, such a stance makes more sense.
Rather than costing the reported £60-£70m, Liverpool will actually part with a figure in the region of £45m to bring the 24-year-old to Anfield. Such a total is in line with the amounts parted with to sign the likes of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, and Cody Gakpo.
As a result, the Reds’ recruitment team have every reason to pat themselves on the back having sniffed out a bargain. After all, Brighton are notoriously hard-nosed when it comes to transfer negotiations.
The Seagulls banked a fee in excess of £60m when selling Marc Cucurella to Chelsea last August, while they also pocketed £77m from Arsenal for Ben White and Leandro Trossard in the past two transfer windows, as well as £25m from Tottenham Hotspur for Yves Bissouma last summer. Meanwhile, they also resisted bids up to £70m for Moises Caicedo from the Gunners in January.
Certainly no pushovers, Mac Allister, having won the World Cup mid-season, was expected to cost a Brighton club-record fee as a result. Yet, courtesy of a transfer release clause of sorts, he has emerged as a lot more affordable.
But that doesn’t mean Liverpool have outmanoeuvred Brighton either. Rather, both clubs have struck a deal that is right for them.
Mac Allister would have actually been available on a free transfer this summer, had the Seagulls not convinced him to pen terms last October off the back of an impressive start to the season. Coming on the eve of the World Cup, it has proven to be the shrewdest of decisions from Brighton bosses.
While the existence of this release clause suggests the Seagulls essentially set this £45m fee for the Argentine eight months ago, it protected them from a cut-price or even Bosman exit. Meanwhile, his World Cup-winning performances only enhanced his reputation.
In truth, with his new contract running until 2025, no-one would have been surprised if Mac Allister had moved for the reported £60-£70m fee. He was central to Argentina winning the World Cup, after all, and has been crucial to Brighton qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history.
The fact he costs significantly less highlights how his new deal was essentially just self-preservation ahead of an unavoidable summer exit regardless. The offer the Seagulls took to Mac Allister and his representatives in mid-season contract talks ensured they could rely on his services until the end of the season without the risk of losing him for a cut-price fee. Rather than £45m being a ‘bargain’, it is instead considerably more than they would have banked without the agreeing of an extension.
Sure, they could have placed a higher price on his head post-World Cup, but with his previous deal expiring, waiting it out was not a gamble they were willing to make. As a result, this transfer is essentially a happy middle-ground for the player, the Reds, and Brighton.
As for Liverpool, a £45m fee perhaps demonstrates the limits of their financial output heading into a Champions League-lite season, with plenty more business still needed to be done. The Reds are very much in the market for quantity this summer, but Mac Allister’s imminent arrival proves that won’t come at the expense of quality.
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