Alexis Mac Allister became the latest South America player to join Liverpool earlier this month, adding to an already well-represented contingent.
While Roberto Firmino (and Arthur Melo) might be leaving the Reds this summer, Jurgen Klopp can still call upon the services of Brazil internationals Alisson Becker and Fabinho, Colombia’s Luis Diaz, and Uruguay’s Darwin Nunez.
To date, 20 South Americans have played senior first team football for Liverpool, with Mac Allister set to be the 21st, and young goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga perhaps also looking to add his name to such a list in the not-too-distant future. Admittedly, not all have been success stories, but when you consider the likes of Luis Suarez, Javier Mascherano, Philippe Coutinho, and Lucas Leiva, along with the current South American quota, it’s clear that some of the Reds’ very best Premier League stars have emerged from the continent.
Yet Mac Allister’s arrival has also shone a further light on a quiet discontent bubbling under the scenes at Anfield. While Liverpool have signed a great player, and a World Cup winner no less, for a bargain fee of around £35m from Brighton & Hove Albion, why are they still requiring the use of a middle man when the then 20-year-old midfielder was snapped up for just £6.9m when the Seagulls brought him in from Argentinos Juniors back in January 2019?
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Of course, such pondering extends beyond Mac Allister when you look at the number of South Americans making an impact in the Premier League when plucked straight from the continent.
Man City boast one of the most successful examples of such business, having signed Julian Alvarez from River Plate for an initial £14m in January 2022. In his first season in England, the 23-year-old scored 17 goals as he got his hands on the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup, as well as the World Cup with Argentina.
Pep Guardiola would return to Argentina a year later to sign 20-year-old midfielder Maximo Perrone from Velez Sarsfield for £8m, while they brought in Kayky from Fluminense for an initial £8.5m in April 2021. Admittedly, such players might not make a direct impact at the Etihad, but the club may loan them out and sell them for a profit.
Douglas Luiz is a good example of this, with City banking £15m from Aston Villa in the summer of 2019, having snapped up the Brazilian for £10.7m from Vasco de Gama two years earlier, only for him to never kick a ball for the club and be sent out on loan after being denied a work permit. Meanwhile, after getting five-and-a-half years out of Gabriel Jesus, having signed him from Palmeiras for £27m in January 2017, they would make roughly £20m profit when selling the forward to Arsenal last summer.
The Gunners have two great examples of such business themselves, with Gabriel Martinelli one of the most-feared forwards in the Premier League despite still being just 21. Arsenal spent just £6m when bringing in the forward from Ituano in July 2019.
Meanwhile, snapping up Emiliano Martinez on a youth contract from Independiente after a successful trial in 2010, they pocketed £20m when selling the goalkeeper to Aston Villa 10 years later.
Elsewhere in the Premier League last season, Carlos Alcaraz and Joao Gomes are impressing for struggling Southampton and Wolves respectively. Aged 20 and 22, the former joined for £12m from Racing Club in January, while the Brazilian cost a reported £15m from Flamengo the same month.
If you don’t snap up a talented player directly from South America, you could have to spend big as Chelsea found out for themselves in January. Enzo Fernandez was linked with a move to the Premier League, including Liverpool, last summer, but joined Benfica for roughly £15m. Six months, and one World Cup win, later, and the 22-year-old was off to Stamford Bridge for £106.8m.
And then there’s Brighton, with Mac Allister just one of a number of impressive South Americans to catch the eye in their ranks in recent years.
Paraguay international Julio Enciso joined from Libertad for £9.5m last summer, with 18-year-old Facundo Buonanotte then signing in a £5.3m switch from Rosario Central in January. Despite both still being teenagers, they would still make an impact for Roberto De Zerbi's side in their first seasons in England.
Beyond them, Pervis Estipinan was one of their star performers after the Ecuador international joined in a £15m deal from Villarreal last August.
Yet Moises Caicedo remains the star attraction. Brighton parted with just £4.5m when signing the midfielder from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle in February 2021. Sent on loan to Belgian side Beerschot the following August, he returned to the Amex Stadium the following January as his loan was cut short and hasn't looked back since.
Having rejected bids of £70m for the Ecuador international from Arsenal in January, the Seagulls are set to demand £100m for his services this summer, with the latest reports suggesting Chelsea are leading the chase.
Liverpool are admirers of the 21-year-old, but aren’t expected to make a move themselves. However, Goal report in January that there have been ‘internal discussions’ at Anfield, querying why they weren’t in for the midfielder when he left Ecuador in 2019.
The South American market is evidently a strong one, with an increasing number of Premier League success stories. And the fact that so many are finding themselves able to make the leap when still so young, without a ‘middle step’ is certainly an intriguing prospect for recruitment teams around England.
Having just spent around £35m on Mac Allister, Liverpool have been encouraged to follow in the footsteps of a Man City or Brighton and make more direct use of the South American market. While £35m hardly breaks the Anfield bank, it doesn’t read as pretty as snapping up the Argentina international for £6.9m four years ago.
But as the Reds’ summer midfield revamp continues, the latest speculation suggests they could actually do just that after a new name was added to their list of reported targets.
Reports in Argentina claim that Liverpool are one of a number of sides interested in Boca Juniors’ Alan Varela, and recently scouted the midfielder in the Argentine outfit’s 1-0 win over Tigre last month.
Varela, who has also been linked with both Newcastle United and Barcelona and was seemingly the subject of an enquiry from Bournemouth in January, has been dubbed 'the next Sergio Busquets' by Spanish news outlet Sport. Meanwhile, despite being only 21, he has already registered over 100 career appearances for Boca since being handed his senior debut in December 2020, and helped them win the Primera Division title in 2022, along with the Copa de la Liga Profesiona and Supercopa Argentina (think League Cup and Community Shield).
Predominantly a holding midfielder, credited to be strong at both passing the ball and winning it back, Liverpool were linked with the Argentine back in March. Football Insider credited the Reds with interest in the player, who could emerge as a potential long-term replacement for Fabinho, and claimed a bid for £16m-£20m would be enough to land his services ahead of a potential summer exit. However, reports suggest he has an £11.7m release clause.
If Liverpool were to move for Varela, they could be aided by new Premier League transfer rules. The Home Office have approved changes which will see clubs now being able to sign up to four overseas players per season who do not meet the current points requirements of the international visa system.
The FA said the move 'provides additional access to exceptional international talent which falls outside the current GBE criteria', which includes the number of international appearances and domestic league minutes a player has played. While Varela has been a regular for Boca Juniors over the past three seasons, he remains uncapped by Argentina beyond U20s level.
Whether Varela emerges as a genuine target for Liverpool remains to be seen, but the South American market is one the club’s recruitment team will have increasing eyes on regardless. And with the latest transfer rule changes making it easier for Premier League sides to snap up young foreign talent, the Reds could soon be following in the footsteps of Man City and Brighton and eliminating transfer middle men themselves in search of proven bargains.
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