Alexis Mac Allister needs Liverpool change and Real Madrid response proves it
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Alexis Mac Allister has been one of many Liverpool players to struggle for form this seasonFor a long time, it was an image that would have sent Liverpool supporters into meltdown. But that there has barely been a ripple at the sight of Alexis Mac Allister posing in a Real Madrid shirt underlines how perceptions have shifted for the midfielder this season.Mac Allister posted the photograph of him wearing a retro Zinedine Zidane shirt on social media this week as part of a series of pictures that also highlighted a fresh appearance having shaven his head before international duty with Argentina.And Liverpool fans will now be hoping for a new look from the 27-year-old on the pitch following a worrying campaign for both player and club.To think it was less than 12 months ago that Mac Allister thumped in the goal that effectively sealed the Premier League title by putting Arne Slot's side ahead in their 5-1 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur at a rocking Anfield.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!
All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook pageThe Argentine, though, didn't start another game that campaign as he nursed an injury that ultimately disrupted his pre-season and left him playing catch-up in terms of sharpness and fitness.Nevertheless, that hasn't prevented Mac Allister featuring in all bar two games this term, with only one absence - the win at Newcastle United in August - due to an injury issue.That said, it wasn't until November he managed to last a full 90 minutes when setting up a strike for Ryan Gravenberch in the 2-0 Premier League victory over Aston Villa at the end of a good week in which Mac Allister also scored the only goal in the Champions League triumph against Real Madrid.Content cannot be displayed without consentBut that profitable period was a brief aberration during a first half of the season in which the midfielder at times visibly lacked intensity in the engine room. The drop-off, as with Liverpool as a whole, was prominent.Hardly the most outspoken of players, that Mac Allister saw fit in January to question the breadth of the squad overhaul last summer clearly hinted at a reason behind the collective and individual struggles."Many things have changed from last season and it is not ideal,“ he said.
But while Mac Allister, similar to the duo, joined in the summer of 2023, he has shown no inclination to enter negotiations despite approaching the last two years of his current agreement.“We are not in contract talks," he admitted three weeks ago. "But I’m not in a rush.”Aged 27, Mac Allister perhaps has one major contract left in his career.