Alexis MacAllister seems more like a Paul Scholes type of player to me.
Alexis Mac Allister | Moves to Liverpool for 35m according to Romano
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I get that vibe… in playing style.
Question is are we looking for that kind of player or someone who can play as 6 and 8
Personally think this guy is overrated. Seems to be the fashionable choice but think he'll be overpriced at 60m. There are better, cheaper options out there.
Nah. Feck that
he’s probably worth that, maybe more. Fantastic player
I don’t think he’s a great passer. More short simple linkup play and then intelligence / low centre of gravity to progress the move in between the lines. I don’t really see the need for him - we need midfielders who excel in deeper areas and are high quality passers and he doesn’t seem to be that.
How exactly? What does he do really well? Seems like a good all-rounder, but lacks an outstanding attribute. Also not sure where he fits in to the team - in place of Bruno? Eriksen? Casemiro? They're all better than him, imo.
He doesn’t really fit in. Yet another midfielder who does his best work a little further up, based on what I’ve seen. We don’t need these all rounders - we are loaded with them even more so if we sign Sabitzer. We need midfielders who will dictate the game in the engine room - take the ball off the CBS, spray it out, get us further up the pitch etc
He's been playing deep when Lallana wasn't injured. He can cover no 8 and no 10, pretty much rotation for Eriksen and Bruno.
Yes but we don’t really need that. We need a natural (or two) who will excel deeper. Our squad is littered with box to box / AMs.
Yeah that's exactly what we need
Isn't it what we need is at least someone who is capable to rotate with Eriksen and Bruno? They are injured and we are fecked because we will left with McFred and VDB.
Sabitzer can do that but we still need that deep lying playmaker to partner Casa
I don’t think so. I mean it would be a dream to have two high quality players in every position but that’s not really possible right now . The way I see it personally:
Destroyer / pure DM - Casemeiro
Attacking playmaker - Eriksen*
Attacking midfielder / second striker - Bruno
All action or box to box - McTominay, Fred and Sabitzer (seems better at attacking than anything else)
VDB - shit footballer but more attacking midfielder than anything
I look at the above and the thing that screams out to me is the lack of playmaking quality in the buildup / engine room of the team. Only Eriksen ( the Bruno once in awhile ) can do it and even he is better further up the pitch.
But the way how Ten Hag sees our best midfield in XI is:
Casemiro - Eriksen
Bruno
And we need someone who can cover those three when they are injured or suspended. That means it's not two high quality players in every position but finding someone who can cover two positions with one player. Isn't Mac Allister the one who can cover two positions because he can cover Eriksen and Bruno position? This will leave us with someone who can cover Casemiro only.Bruno
Not what we need at all, to be honest. He is closer to a false 9 than a 10. Shoots a lot, but that's pretty much it. And we don't need a 10 or a false 9.
Caicedo is the one we must be going after.
Caicedo is the one we must be going after.
I seen non of that at the World Cup. But I cannot say I watch Brighton like that to even comment on Caicedo.
But still a strange comment to call him a false 9.
Not strange at all. He was used differently during the World Cup. He is somewhere between a false 9 and an aggressive 10. At least for Brighton. These are the areas he generally occupies for Brighton:
His strong suit is his shooting, but other than that he doesn't really stand out. The Brighton game against Chelsea the other day was a good sample. He isn't bad, of course, but our limited budget is better spent elsewhere. We just don't need what he offers.
Played as a 6/8 on numerous occasions. Usually have a lot more passes than when he play as a ten and higher completion rate. Against Spurs he completed 106 passes with a completion rate of 89,8 %. Against Liverpool he completed 60 passes with a completion rate of 88 % (played as a 10 between the 66 min and 83 min when he was subbed).
But I’m not too sure about him either. Mainly because I really want a midfielder that work well both next to Casemiro and Eriksen. I my opinion, that is Caicedo or Rice. Caicedo, as an example, have played both next to Mac Allister and Gross.
But I do think Mac Allister would be a brilliant option to have. He is very versatile, and would be an upgrade on Sabitzer. And as we saw against Sevilla, having that type of midfielder is quite effective.
I like it and I want it. Thanks.
If it's between Sabitzer and Mac Allister, I'm taking the latter. But we just have so many other holes to fill and not enough money. I'd rather have Caicedo than him. Caicedo can both play alongside Casemiro and fill for him if he is missing, which is has been a massive issue for us this season. Maybe Caicedo and Kokcu, if budged allows it. Rice is just up in the air right now. He is going nowhere if West Ham continue to demand a hilarious fee for him.
Seems like a strange one to me. From everything I’ve read about ETH he’d want a deep player who’s press resistant and can beat a man in midfield that can offer us something different to the 8/10s we already have. This guys closer to Eriksen and Bruno than that style. If we’re going to go for a player of this ilk I’d pick up Maddison in the last year of his contract.
Probably true. Guess it could depend a bit on what happens with the sales process.
But I do think the reason both Liverpool and Man Utd have an interest in Mac Allister is because they believe he got more to his game than what he is showing as a 10. He has not played much deeper for de Zerbi, but when he had, he has been impressive. Not only is he press resistant, but he is a really good passer of the ball.
I think that is the key, Mac Allister is not closer to Bruno and Eriksen than that style. He is press resistant and he van beat a man in midfield. Mac Allister has a completion rate for take ons for 60 %. Maddison and Eriksen is at 36 %.
I also think the guy who pointed out that he can play as a false nine makes a good point. EtH has played Weghorst and Sabitzer as a 10 numerous times. That tells me that he want a different type of profile than Bruno as a 10.
I also think Brighton plays a type of football that is closer to where EtH see Man Utd in the long term. I would therefor noe be surprised if we were interested in one of their players.
I like him but I don't think we should sacrifice a chunk of our budget on a position that isn't as sorely needed. Liverpool will be desperate and be more likely spend the £50-60m.
I think we have some Brighton fans on here who go to the games? They Would be able to tell you the best. The one thing I notice about him is he almost never loses possession and is very press resistant. Has a nice low centre of gravity too. He’s not afraid to get stuck in, and typically scores spectacular goals. The guy started in the World Cup final and was one of Argentina most consistent players the whole tournament.
Most Albion fans actually prefer him in a double pivot with Caicedo. They receive the ball from Dunk or the keeper generally, and it’s how we break the lines. He is extremely press resistant and dogged. However, post World Cup, having played as a ten through the tournament and controlled over an hour of a World Cup final, he has played exclusively in that position for us.
De Zerbi said in a press conference it’s where Mac Allister wants to play, and that has dictated his selection there.
His shooting is often wayward, and should’ve had four or five more goals but for poor finishing. That said, he really can pick a pass and runs for days. He has tenacity, desire and excellent close control. His vision is a strength and he is of moderate pace. He doesn’t get skinned when defending and positional shape is superb.
Mac is a trier. He doesn’t have the genius moments of De Bruyne, he is a player who is greater than the sum of his parts.
I would be hesitant to build a team around him, unlike Caicedo, who looks genuinely elite and this is borne out through his stats.
I really like Ale, he is a great cog in the machine - but I’d sell him before losing Caicedo, Mitoma, Ferguson and even March and Dunk. I think he’s one of the more replaceable members of our team.
Good player, won’t let you down wherever he goes. Not elite on his own, but alongside Caicedo or Casemiro holds his own.
Would be an upgrade at number ten on Fernandes (in my opinion).
Martinez macallister and garnacho repping the argies. Not bad
I never watch Brighton, but he sounds tailor made for us from what you’re describing.
He could do a job at any team in the league, but if I had to pick one which would suit him best it would be Manchester City. He is similar to Gundogan who is slowing down a bit, and an upgrade on Kalvin Phillips (a big upgrade). I don’t think they’ll pay the fee required though.
But yes, he’d be straight into the Liverpool first XI.
Yeah maybe, was just going by him running all day and being greater than his sum of parts, which is basically how Klopp has run his midfield with us.
Nope
Lots of opinions, very little knowledge of the player. He can absolutely play as a deep lying playmaker and has the work rate and physicality to hunt the ball down in midfield as well as higher up the pitch, so to say he's strictly an attacking 10 is just factually incorrect. He's an incredibly intelligent player and has shown very good press resistance with the requisite skill and anticipation. The posts that claim he's not a good passer are simply not worth addressing beyond you either don't watch him or don't know what a good passer is supposed to look like. Have your head examined if you don't want him for 60 million. Lack of depth in midfield behind Eriksen and Casemiro is as big a culprit for our most recent drop in form as the lack of a striker.
I agree, I think he is very much a Klopp player and at a really good age to hit the ground running. 5-6 years ago he’d have been a classic £35m signing from a lesser prem team. Unfortunately these types of players cost £60-80m now.
Could see you grabbing Mac Allister + Ugarte, Arsenal getting Rice, and we’ll spend all summer chasing Caicedo and signing him late on for £85m.
That’s an absurd post that got snuck in under the radar there
That rules Liverpool out then.
Yeah it was all sounding fairly balanced up until that little nugget at the end
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