Manchester United were also interested in signing Alexis Mac Allister, who made it clear he only had eyes for Liverpool
Man United manager Erik ten Hag (left) was interested in Alexis Mac Allister (centre) but he only wanted Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp (right
First glance suggests Alexis Mac Allister simply didn’t have any other choice.
In one corner, a team on the ascendant, back in the Champions League after a short absence with a manager who has won one trophy in his first season, reached another final and who is expected to further expensively strengthen his squad this summer.
And in the other there’s a team who have posted their worst full season under the present boss, have been consigned to the Europa League for the first time in seven years and have just seen two of their most decorated squad members walk away for nothing while being forced to step away from the pursuit of their long-time summer transfer target due to financial restraints
Yes, the cut-price release clause for Mac Allister negotiated into the contract signed at Brighton in October – he would otherwise have been available on a free at the end of the season – made the 24-year-old a particularly attractive prospect to Liverpool under the transfer model employed by Fenway Sports Group. The Reds’ recruitment team deserve credit for being aware of such a clause, particularly considering Mac Allister’s Argentina World Cup final midfield partner Enzo Fernandez joined Chelsea for £106.8million in January.
But Klopp, and his vision of Liverpool’s future plans and where the former Argentinos Juniors man fits in them, ultimately made up the mind of the player. Manchester City, too, had been sniffing around, but the lure of Liverpool and their irrepressible manager held sway.
Of course, Mac Allister isn’t the first player to resist the overtures from other main Premier League clubs to opt to join Klopp’s Liverpool. In fact, having moved from a South Coast side, there are parallels with Virgil van Dijk, who chose to move to Anfield rather than Chelsea or Manchester City.
Chelsea, the title holders back in the summer of 2017, could boast Antonio Conte as manager. And Pep Guardiola had completed a season to get his feet under the table at the Etihad and come to terms with English football.
Neither, though, were Klopp. And the ability of the Liverpool boss to sell a vision of the possible future at Anfield was what persuaded Van Dijk to make the move, even if the Reds eventually had to wait several months before it was concluded in January.
defender on completing his £75m transfer.
There was a similar story with Sadio Mane, another player taken from a South Coast club – Southampton in 2016 – who rejected Manchester United to instead move to A Field.
“I have to say, I was really close to going to Manchester United,” said Mane last year. “I had the contract there. I had it all agreed. It was all ready, but instead, I thought, ‘No, I want to go to Liverpool’. I was convinced to go with (Jurgen) Klopp’s project. I still remember the first time I got the call from . He said, ‘we have a big project at Liverpool and I want you to be part of it’.”
Mane, and to a lesser extent Van Dijk, were both taking a greater leap of faith than Mac Allister, who arrives at Liverpool in the knowledge Klopp has previously swept the board with major honours and last season came within a whisker of guiding the Reds to an unprecedented treble.
And there have been more recent examples, with the Reds beating United to the signature of Darwin Nunez last summer while Cody Gakpo could potentially have stayed at PSV Eindhoven until end of the season with a bid from Old Trafford anticipated, but was instead swayed to move to Anfield in January.
Liverpool may not have the financial clout of some of their near Premier League rivals. But the persuasive, infectious powers of Klopp to sell a vision remain priceless.
