As if you needed any further convincing, the good number-crunching folks at Squawka shared a succinct factual explanation on Twitter which shows why Alexis Mac Allister could be an ‘absolute bargain’ for Liverpool at £35m.
That’s the fee suggested by Fabrizio Romano on Wednesday morning as he gave the famed ‘here we go’ to the transfer, which now looks set to be officially announced imminently.
Considering it was just over a month ago that Sky Sports claimed Brighton were holding out for £70m or more for the 24-year-old, paying just half of that for the World Cup-winning midfielder would represent extraordinarily good business by the Reds.
That case was further underlined by Squawka on Twitter as they outlined (with an accompanying graphic) how Mac Allister had the most goals, shots, shots on target, possession won in the final third, through balls and fouls won for the Seagulls during the most recent Premier League campaign.
The tweet signed off with a simple yet inarguable statement that ‘£35m is an absolute bargain‘.
READ MORE: How Liverpool’s six previous Argentina players fared at Anfield
Taking the six metrics highlighted by Squawka, how do his figures measure up with Liverpool’s squad from the 2022/23 Premier League? We’ve used figures from FBref to compare and contrast Mac Allister’s numbers with those at Anfield.
Goals
Mac Allister: He netted 10 times in the top flight, doubling his previous best for a single league campaign.
Liverpool: Only Mo Salah (15) and Bobby Firmino (11) could exceed the Argentine’s tally among Jurgen Klopp’s squad, while Curtis Jones was the Reds’ most prolific midfielder in the division with just three goals.
Shots (and shots on target)
Mac Allister: He took 80 shots in total (2.49 per game) and got 28 on target, giving him an accuracy of 35%.
Liverpool: Only Salah and Nunez at Anfield shot more regularly (121 and 84) and hit the target more often (45 and 35). Seven players had a greater percentage of shots on target, but four of those took 11 shots or fewer. Six Reds players had a greater return for shots per game.
Possession won in final third
Mac Allister: The Argentine won eight tackles in the attacking third of the pitch during 2022/23, which admittedly was down on the 12 he recorded in the campaign prior.
Liverpool: Six Reds players exceeded his tally for that metric, including two midfielders in Jones (14) and Harvey Elliott (nine).
Through balls
Mac Allister: The 24-year-old played 15 through balls in the top flight this season, more than double his combined number from the two campaigns before 2022/23.
Liverpool: Trent Alexander-Arnold (26) was the only Reds player to beat the Argentine’s tally, with Salah the next best at 14, followed by Jordan Henderson with nine.
Fouls won
Mac Allister: Incredibly, the Brighton midfielder was fouled no fewer than 57 times in the most recent Premier League campaign, 22 more than the number of free kicks he gave away.
Liverpool: Cody Gakpo and Salah were the Reds’ most fouled players in 2022/23 with 33 each, just nine more combined than the Argentina star alone. Thiago and Elliott were next for the Reds on 25 apiece.
So there you have it. There’s much more to being a top-level Premier League midfielder than excelling in just the few metrics highlighted above, but it’s still a diverse skill set which offers a hint as to just how astute a signing Mac Allister could be for Liverpool.