Liverpool has completed the signing of Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister for a reported £35 million fee.
The Reds have been in talks with the Argentina international’s entourage since March and have finally landed their man after activating his release clause.
The deal to bring the Argentine World Cup winner to Anfield was initially expected to cost more than £60 million, so this investment – on face value – makes huge economic sense for the Reds, who can invest the change into signing two other midfielders.
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Mac Allister, who passed a medical in Merseyside on Tuesday, has agreed terms on a deal that will run to June 2028. He has been handed Liverpool’s vacant No 10 shirt to show how much the club values his signing.
“It feels amazing. It’s a dream come true, it’s amazing to be here, and I can’t wait to get started,” the midfielder told the club’s official website.
“I wanted to be in [from] the first day of pre-season, so it’s good that everything is done. I’m looking forward to meeting my teammates.
“It was a fantastic year for me – World Cup, what we achieved with Brighton – but now it’s time to think about Liverpool and try to be a better player and a better human being every day.”
He added: “Since I won the World Cup, I said that I want to win more trophies, and I think that this club will help me to do that – that’s the aim, and when you are in a big club like this one, you have to win trophies. So, that’s what I want.
“Since I arrived here, I can see how big this club is – the players we have, the staff, everyone. I’m really pleased and looking forward to playing for this club.”
Klopp said: “We are adding a very talented, very smart, very technically skilled boy to our squad, and this is super news, really it is.
“I do not think the football world needs me to say too much about Alexis’ qualities because they are already pretty well known, but it is clear that he is someone who can play in a number of positions in the midfield and is an all-rounder, I would say. He is calm and composed and someone with proper game intelligence.
“Of course, he is a player we have known about for a long time, and I have watched him grow from a young boy coming into the Premier League to a man who helped his country win the World Cup. That is quite a journey.
“My admiration and respect for what Brighton are doing is well known, and Alexis has been a part of the journey that they have been on in becoming one of the toughest and best sides in the Premier League.
“I’m really happy his next steps will now be with us, and we get to work with a player who is already excellent and experienced but also has so much more to come, given he is just 24 years old.
“He is just as excited to be joining and working with us, and that already makes it a good partnership, but there is no pressure on him. He is still so young, so it is obvious he will only improve, and our job is to help him take the next steps.
“I’m grateful to everyone at the club who helped make this transfer happen, and I am sure I speak for everyone here when I say I cannot wait to start working with Alexis.
“It will be a bit of time before he is able to play at Anfield in front of our fans, but in this modern world, I am sure he will see how our supporters will welcome him to the Liverpool family when he looks at his phone today and sees the messages online. They will make him feel at home straight away. I have no doubt about that.”
