Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock has suggested that Andoni Iraola’s current tactics don’t seem to be getting the best out of Alexis Mac Allister.
Mac Allister has been a key player since joining Liverpool from Brighton back in the summer of 2023, though he hasn’t been quite at his best in the last few months.
Still, Warnock rates the Argentina international highly, and was impressed with how he performed in last night’s 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Mac Allister ended up scoring the winning goal for Liverpool after admitting before the game that he’d been disappointed not to be offered a new contract.
The 27-year-old backed up his words with a big performance when it mattered, and Warnock feels we could probably see him performing even better if Iraola’s system could be adjusted to give him a better platform.
Liverpool system blamed for Alexis Mac Allister’s dip in form
As quoted by BBC Sport, Warnock suggested Liverpool’s current tactics look too dysfunctional to get the best out of Mac Allister, though there are perhaps some early signs of improvement.
“I don’t think Mac Allister has to show his importance to Liverpool, I think everyone knows the qualities he has got anyway,” the pundit said.
“I think there will be a lot of talk about him because of what has gone on in the past few days, but I think Liverpool fans were already asking why hasn’t he been offered a new contract when other players have.
“To come out and talk about a contract situation like he did, a couple of days before a game, and to be able to back it up the way he did with a good performance is important – but it is over the course of the season, where his performances are important because if he wants a contract and he thinks he deserves a contract then if his performances are good, he will get one.
“We all know the qualities that he has got – he is a World Cup winner, a Premier League winner, we know that he’s a very good player, it is just he has got to be put into the right system to make it work.
“At the moment Liverpool’s system is a little bit dysfunctional but it is starting to get better and he will get better because of that.”
Should Liverpool keep Alexis Mac Allister?
Some LFC fans will probably feel it’s worth keeping Mac Allister, but at the same time there’ll likely be a few who are open to the club making a change.
Even if the former Brighton man clearly has his qualities, it might be that he’s not quite the righty fit for what Iraola is trying to build at Anfield.
There might also be some intriguing market opportunities coming soon that would persuade Liverpool they could find an upgrade.
Alex Scott from Iraola’s former club Bournemouth, linked with Liverpool recently by the Independent, makes sense as someone who could be the ideal long-term successor to Mac Allister, and someone Liverpool could really build their midfield around.
Scott was hugely important for Iraola at Bournemouth and continues to shine for the Cherries, though the expectation is that he’ll surely be on the move in 2027.
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
