Liverpool are pressing forward with plans to revamp their midfield this summer after confirming vice captain James Milner will depart the club when his contract expires.
In a quadruple announcement, it was revealed - as expected - that Milner is entering his final weeks with the Reds as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and Roberto Firmino also prepare to leave. It signals the end, or at least a change, in era at Anfield and beyond.
With that in mind, the Reds are tipped to go heavy-handed when the market reopens in their ongoing bid to strengthen up the engine room. Initial plans to target Jude Bellingham have been shelved, while Brighton star Alexis Mac Allister has emerged as a potential alternative - alongside Mason Mount, Nicolo Barella and others.
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Having caught the eye with his Brighton performances - making 107 appearances over four years there - Mac Allister helped Argentina reach the footballing summit this winter in Qatar as World Cup winners. That was an iconic achievement which further highlighted Mac Allister as a global force.
Still only 24-years-old, the playmaker counts Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors (loan) as former clubs, while he touched down on the south coast back in 2019 for what now seems a bargain €8m fee. Fast forward to this summer and Liverpool might well have to spend seven or eight times that on his signature.
Mac Allister reportedly has other potential suitors - including Manchester United and Newcastle United - but the Reds are odds-on favourites to sign him, according to some bookmakers. He would certainly fit the bill for Klopp by adding guile, style and creativity.
Should he put pen-to-paper, the Argentine would also seemingly have a free run at his dream shirt number as Liverpool have yet to reassign the number 10 shirt after Sadio Mane vacated it last summer. Mac Allister wears number 10 for Brighton and previously did so for first club Argentinos.
Keita is poised to vacate the number 8 shirt this summer and Mac Allister wore that particular option at Boca on loan. Meanwhile, numbers 12, 16, 24, 25 and 30 are still unassigned - while departing vice captain Milner and Oxlade-Chamberlain will vacate numbers 7 and 15 respectively.
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