Alexis Mac Allister was seen in tears after Brighton's 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa yesterday afternoon after seemingly saying goodbye to the Seagulls supporters following the full-time whistle.
The Argentine midfielder is expected to leave his current employers in the coming weeks and is a primary target for Liverpool as they prepare to revamp their midfield department this summer. The ECHO understands the Reds may, however, have to fend off interest from Manchester City and Manchester United if they are to recruit Mac Allister.
In the clearest indication yet that the 24-year-old will be departing Brighton, the World Cup winner appeared extremely emotional as he made his way over to those fans who had made the trip to Villa Park to watch Roberto De Zerbi's side in action. As supporters began to chant the name of the midfielder, De Zerbi placed his arm around the player before grinning and pointing in his direction.
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Speaking after his side's victory over Villa, the Brighton boss then confirmed he expects Sunday's Premier League contest will be Mac Allister's last for the Seagulls. “Yes, I think it can be the last game for Alexis and Moises Caicedo," admitted the Italian.
"I am really sorry because they are two great people and two great players but the policy of Brighton is like this. It is right that they can leave, they can play at higher level.”
Less resigned to the idea of Mac Allister seeking pastures new this summer, Brighton CEO Paul Barber played down talk of an exit when discussing the player's future with talkSPORT earlier this week. “I saw [Mac Allister] down on the pitch looking very happy and obviously we want him to be here next season," he said.
“Obviously we know there’s going to be a lot of clubs, not just in this country, but around Europe and around the world, that are going to be wanting him to play for them. But, at the moment he’s wearing blue and white stripes and I’m delighted about that.
"If I lost sleep over every report that I read about one of our players doing that then I wouldn’t be sleeping very much at all. At the moment, he’s focused on doing what he can for us during his final two games.”
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