Liverpool Cannot Afford Another Midfield Contract Mistake

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about Liverpool returning to Champions League action against Atletico Madrid, but one issue from the pre-match press conference has been nagging away at me.

Alexis Mac Allister’s future.

Macca was asked about his contract situation and gave a pretty straightforward answer. There has been no new offer from Liverpool and, as things stand, his representatives have not received any indication that one is coming.

That concerns me.

Mac Allister has two years remaining on his deal, so there is no immediate crisis. But Liverpool have spent far too much time in recent years allowing important players to drift towards uncomfortable contract situations.

I don’t want us doing it again.

Especially with one of our best midfielders.

Mac Allister situation needs addressing

I liked what I saw from Macca against Ipswich.

There was more bite in his performance, more aggression and more of those clever little movements that allow him to escape pressure. He looked much closer to the midfielder we know he can be.

Now we are hearing about Liverpool looking at Lamine Camara, Manu Koné and Alex Scott as possible future midfield options.

David Ornstein has spoken about Liverpool’s interest in Camara and suggested Koné is another player the club like, while Scott remains firmly on the radar of several major clubs.

I’ve already made my feelings about Camara clear.

Get him.

I think he would add something this midfield badly needs. Athleticism, energy, defensive coverage and the ability to cover ground. If Liverpool can get that deal done in January, I would be delighted.

That still shouldn’t automatically mean Mac Allister goes.

Liverpool need more high-quality midfielders, not another summer where we lose somebody important and then spend months scrambling around trying to replace him.

January could reveal Liverpool’s plan

Alex Scott is another player I would happily see at Liverpool.

The problem is Bournemouth made it abundantly clear during the summer that they weren’t interested in selling. Chelsea pushed, Liverpool were interested, other major clubs were watching, but Bournemouth held firm.

If that changes, I expect the price to be enormous.

Manu Koné is slightly different for me. I’m probably less excited about that possibility, partly because I haven’t watched enough of him recently to pretend I have a particularly strong opinion.

There is also an irritating element to Liverpool being linked with him again because he was available before his move to Roma.

That’s something we seem to do remarkably often.

Watch a player, decide against signing him, watch him develop somewhere else and then contemplate buying him for considerably more money.

Camara would be my preference.

But whatever Liverpool decide, Mac Allister’s contract needs to form part of that planning.

Julian Ward return feels too familiar

Then we come to the sporting director situation.

Ornstein believes Julian Ward stands a strong chance of getting the position, although external candidates remain under consideration.

I’m not completely against Ward.

I just find myself wondering why Liverpool continually return to the same people.

This would effectively be the third time we’ve gone back to him in one capacity or another. After everything that has happened around the football operation, I’d prefer somebody from outside to come in with fresh ideas.

We need to move forward.

Richard Hughes has gone and this should be an opportunity to examine how recruitment operates, rather than automatically reaching for somebody already embedded within the existing structure.

Whoever gets the job will immediately have some enormous decisions to make.

Mac Allister’s contract will be one of them.

Atletico provides perfect Champions League test

All of that can wait for 90 minutes because Atletico Madrid are coming to Anfield.

I love this fixture as Liverpool’s opening Champions League game.

Cody Gakpo missing training is a concern, even if his absence was described as precautionary. He has been one of our better players this season and I want him available. Joe Gomez returning to training is at least some welcome news.

My team would be:

Alisson

Ronald Araujo, Jeremy Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez

Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai

Florian Wirtz

Cody Gakpo, Alexander Isak, Bradley Barcola

If Cody isn’t available, I’d put Victor Muñoz on the right.

I’m particularly excited about seeing Barcola in Europe at Anfield and I think Isak looks ready to really get going. This is precisely the sort of night you sign players of that calibre for.

I’m not expecting Liverpool to win the Champions League this season. We’re not even among the five favourites in the figures discussed on the show. What I do expect is a better attempt than we’ve produced in recent campaigns.

Atletico at Anfield is a brilliant place to start.

And while we’re watching what happens on the pitch, Liverpool’s decision-makers need to start sorting out what happens beyond it.

Because Alexis Mac Allister’s contract clock is already ticking.

Much Love.