Arsenal are the latest club to show an interest in Brighton's World Cup -winning midfield star Alexis Mac Allister - months after they were urged to sign the Argentina ace by former Gunner Emmanuel Petit.
Mac Allister, 23, headed out to Qatar as a squad player but ended the tournament as one of Argentina's star men. After bagging his first international goal against Poland, the Seagulls star played a leading role for La Albiceste as they dethroned France in the greatest World Cup final in modern history on Sunday.
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe stole the show at the Lusail Stadium by bagging a brace and a hat-trick respectively, but it was Mac Allister who caught the eye in midfield. He earned plenty of plaudits for his majestic performance and even managed to grab an assist by teeing up Angel Di Maria for Argentina's classy second goal.
Mac Allister already caught the eye for Brighton this term and was attracting interest from Tottenham before the Premier League was paused last month.
Brighton are now braced for fresh interest in Mac Allister following the World Cup - and AS are claiming that Arsenal and Atletico Madrid are two other clubs who are currently courting the midfield maestro.
Arsenal's interest in Mac Allister comes just months after he was recommended to Edu by Petit. The Gunners' former midfield lynchpin clocked up over a century of appearances during his stint in north London and highlighted Mac Allister shortly after the summer transfer window closed.
Speaking back in September, Petit told Lord Ping : "Not signing [ Liverpool loanee] Arthur Melo isn’t a big miss for Arsenal. But I know they were looking for that link between the midfield and striker. If I were Edu, I’d make an offer for Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton – I really like him."
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Mac Allister cost Brighton just £7million back in 2019 and recently put pen-to-paper on fresh terms that tie him to the south coast until 2025. However, that is not expected to deter his suitors, who could try to prise the playmaker away next summer.
Brighton CEO Paul Barber has insisted that the Seagulls have no appetite to sell Mac Allister, who has even been likened to Messi by new Brighton chief Roberto De Zerbi.
Barber said: “Of course, we’re very aware that when any of our players, when any of our staff, do well, they’re going to attract interest from bigger clubs, wealthier clubs.
“We’re very conscious of that. But we want to keep Alexis here as long as we can. He’s a very important part of the team and we’re looking forward to having him back in the not-too-distant future.”
