Man On Monday 012
We knew that Brighton were going to sell Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister this summer. Roberto De Zerbi made that clear to the public after their final game of the season, stating that “it is right that they can leave to play at a higher level.” Caicedo was the subject of £70M bids from Arsenal in January, and that number looks like it will be even higher this time around. Those figures make a lot of sense given that the Ecuadorian is only 21 years old and has a Bellingham-esque profile that can be molded into anything his next coach may desire.
What makes less sense is how his now-ex-teammate’s reported release clause stood at just £35M + £20 in add-ons or so – one that Liverpool triggered last week. If those numbers are correct, then Liverpool’s new Director of Football Jorg Schmadtke has already gotten the bargain of the entire summer.
Here’s why I wholeheartedly believe this:
We have come to know Alexis Mac Allister as one of Messi’s unheralded World Cup soldiers, a youngster who stepped up and valiantly played his part (Julian Alvarez is also in this bracket) in Messi’s big triumph. Yet despite playing a crucial role at the tournament – and starring for a popular Brighton side – there is still an element of mystery surrounding him. What does he do best? What is his best position?
Mac Allister arrived at Brighton in 2020 as a clever number 10 – a role whose prestige seems to dwindle with each passing season in the modern game. Graham Potter told the press that he was excited for him to attack the box and add goals to the Seagulls’ midfield group. The Argentine showed flashes but struggled to find a consistent place in the team, scoring just one league goal and providing one league assist through his first year-and-a-half on the South Coast.
Fast-forward to the start of the 2021 season, when he had just returned from the Olympics with the national team. Up to this point, his first two seasons with Brighton had resulted in 15th- and 16th-placed finishes. Their goal every year remained survival. In 2021-22, expectations changed for the Seagulls.
Despite a six-game losing streak in February, Brighton managed the best ever finish in their history – ninth in the Premier League. Graham Potter gained recognition for astutely setting his side up differently every week based on their diverse opponents. Mac Allister was the poster boy for the weekly changes.
One might expect a talented playmaker to play in multiple roles. These are typically patient players who can wiggle themselves into tight pockets and make the decisive action. They run channels and make space for others. They distract and create. They operate as classic attacking midfielders behind the striker, cut inside from either wing, or play as attacking eights. Take your pick. Choose your system. Choose your fighter.
What you might not expect is for them to be positioned as deepest midfielders, especially when they’ve never really played there.
In the 21-22 season, Mac Allister lined up as a center-forward, attacking midfielder, left winger, and eventually found himself as Brighton’s first-choice defensive midfielder – alone in the pivot. Potter identified his ability to dictate tempo and make correct decisions in build-up as the key to drive the side forward.
The transition from playing in the final phase of play to the first isn’t one that feels like a natural move. It requires thinking outside-the-box, and it requires a special kind of player. Mac Allister displayed enough mobility and energy to defend effectively at the base of the midfield (especially given that he was playing next to super-freak Moises Caicedo), and completely controlled the way Brighton methodically made their way forward against opponents.
When Roberto De Zerbi took over for Graham Potter, things changed drastically. The Italian implemented a more consistent 4-2-3-1 formation. Brighton’s style became more possession-based than territory-oriented, aiming to draw the other team out through intricate (and often risky) build-up patterns in order to create advantageous, transition-like scenarios for the attackers.
Mac Allister’s role had changed again. Rather than play as deep as he did at his best for Potter, he was deployed further upfield. Brighton’s center backs and pivot would draw opponents out, and the Argentine lingered in the next phase to receive the out-ball, with which he either played neat flicks to onrushing teammates, or elegantly turned upfield himself and sparked an attack. The role involved as much hold-up play as it involved intricate passing and tempo dictation. It put his movement and IQ at the fore.
Take a look below at his overall involvement in Zone 14: the quadrant of the pitch that is arguably the most dangerous – right outside the box, right in front of the goal. Ranking first in these categories doesn’t paint an entire picture, but it does provide a glimpse into the value Mac Allister provided while playing for Roberto De Zerbi’s fun Brighton.
More than anyone else in the Brighton team this season, he felt complete. He danced around defenders with grace and seemed a step ahead of everyone else. The added layer to his grace and stature came when he began 2023 as a World Cup winner – an accomplishment that gives any player an inherent glow and aura.
The international triumph didn’t just raise Mac Allister’s profile as a professional footballer. It also furthered his case as one of the most versatile midfielders in the world, because Mac Allister didn’t just jump from the 10-role to the 6, and then back to the 10. In between, he played a key role as Argentina’s number 8, as he started every game at the World Cup, bar one. His movements in the build-up to Di Maria’s goal in the final put the trophy well within touching distance for his country.
His transfer doesn’t come as a surprise, and he arrives at Liverpool capable of filling any hole they have in midfield, providing them with a Gundogan-like profile.
His price, given the complex tactical landscape of today’s elite club game, made me jump out of my seat.
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