Alexis Mac Allister X-rated response is exactly what Liverpool need to hear from midfielder

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Alexis Mac Allister is having to dig deep with Argentina and that attitude could serve him well for Liverpool in the coming seasonSix have fallen by the wayside, now only two remain. Liverpool's representation at the World Cup continues into the quarter-finals.Victor Munoz, the new £34.5million signing from Osasuna, will be hoping for his first minutes in the competition for Spain in their clash against Belgium on Friday night, having returned to training this week after a muscle injury.Alexis Mac Allister, however, has been far more prominent in Argentina's dramatic run to the last eight and a meeting with Switzerland in the early hours of Sunday morning.Mac Allister has featured in every minute bar the final group game against Jordan, where, with his country having already progressed as group winners, he had a half-hour cameo from the bench in the second half for a much-changed team.And he was at the heart of Argentina's dramatic round of 16 win over Egypt and former Reds colleague Mohamed Salah on Tuesday evening, not least the game's pivotal moment during injury time.Mac Allister was adjudged not to have pulled down Hamdi Fathy in the area shortly before Salah was not awarded a penalty after going to ground, sparking a swift Argentine counter-attack that led to Enzo Fernandez heading in the winner.One amusing aspect of the Liverpool man's competition has been the potty-mouthed sign-off on his recent social media posts that perhaps sums up the attitude of the Argentina team to just keep cracking on despite the setbacks and reverses of the last two games.It's that defiant attitude that will serve the 27-year-old well as he approaches a pivotal few months in his Anfield career.Should Argentina progress to the semi-finals, it would mean Mac Alister wouldn't join up with the Liverpool squad for pre-season until after the US tour in early August, ensuring another summer where he will be playing catch-up on his Reds team-mates regarding fitness and sharpness.Given Andoni Iraola has now taken charge following the sacking of Arne Slot, it will be a third manager for the Argentine to impress in just over as many years at the club.And Mac Allister will be the first to admit he must improve on the overall disappointing form he demonstrated last season, despite having played a part in all bar two of Liverpool's 57 games.With Iraola preferring a double pivot at Bournemouth, the opening will be there for Mac Allister to feature in the position he recently admitted was his favourite.The complication, of course, is that Liverpool may now be looking beyond the Argentine.

While Ryan Gravenberch signed a new long-term contract earlier this year and Dominik Szoboszlai is in talks to follow suit, Mac Allister hasn't yet been offered a new deal with less than two years on his current agreement remaining.Talk of Real Madrid being interested lessened given their links with Fernandez earlier in the summer, only to grow louder once more in the wake of the Spanish side last week unusually releasing a statement insisting they were not interested in the Chelsea man.With Liverpool pondering their midfield options - but unlikely to make any serious moves until one or more of the current engine room agrees to an exit - Mac Allister's future, both in the short and long term, is far from certain.But as is being shown in the World Cup, don't expect the Argentina international to give up his regular starting place without an almighty scrap. Cue Mac Allister's sweary salute.