Last season, it would have been hard to point to a Liverpool player who had an especially good season. Even within that context, though, some had it worse than others—and few had it worse than Alexis Mac Allister.
The 27-year-old Argentine looked at times as though his legs had gone. He began to play nervously. He offered little either on or off the ball. To make the situation even more difficult heading into a summer when he would have two years left on his contract it was the season he should have been
negotiating a new deal.
Earlier this month, he revealed that the club had signalled last season that they would not be looking to get him on a new deal. In the early days of Andoni Iraola’s tenure, though, it is Mac Allsiter who has looked the Reds’ best and most consistent midfielder.
“There’s no firm decision yet,” he said when asked about his Liverpool contract situation after joining Argentina for the international break this week. “I still have two years left on my contract and as I said, I’m going to give it my all.
“A lot can happen in that time—there are plenty of options. Hopefully it’ll be for more years at Liverpool, but if even it’s just two I’ll have to enjoy them with my family because I have no doubt that I’m at one of the best clubs in the world.”
As for his more immediate concerns over the next few weeks, Argentina have scheduled three friendlies for the international break: Wednesday, September 30th against Bolivia; Saturday, October 3rd against Burkina Faso; and Tuesday, October 6th against Benin.
That final match is set to be Lionel Messi’s retirement match with the Argentine national team, marking the end of an era for a nation—and football as a whole.
“It will be a different process with new players coming in,” Mac Allister added of the situation. “We need to start realising the best player in the world, the one who made all the difference, won’t be there anymore, and we’ll have to grow stronger as a team. That will be the most important thing.”
