Ex-Liverpool man prefers ‘excellent’ Everton star over £64m attacker; questions ‘disappointing’ signing | OneFootball

Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Darwin Nunez.

It’s been claimed that Liverpool newbie Alexis Mac Allister has been “disappointing” this season as he is being “exposed” in his unnatural position.

Mac Allister was Liverpool’s first summer signing during the most recent transfer window. He joined the Reds from Premier League rivals Brighton for £35m.

The midfielder was among the best players in the Premier League last term as the Seagulls finished sixth. He was also key for Argentina in Qatar as they won the World Cup.

The 24-year-old has been played as a number six during the early weeks of this season as Liverpool – who have won the most points from behind in the Premier League this campaign – do not currently have a top-quality defensive midfielder.

They also signed Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch but they did not recruit a direct replacement for Fabinho, who joined Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ittihad in the summer.

Ex-Liverpool and Newcastle defender Jose Enrique thinks Mac Allister has been “disappointing” this term because “he’s not been playing in his normal position”.

“For me, Alexis Mac Allister has been disappointing because he’s not been playing in his normal position for Liverpool since joining the club this season,” Enrique told Grosvenor Sport.

“He’s a number eight and has always been a number eight, and that’s why he’s being exposed in the number six position.

“The problem with Liverpool is that they don’t have a starting number six at the moment, which is why he’s playing there. He’s not playing in his position, he’s not a number six, that’s the truth.

“Liverpool play a really high line and he’s not known for his defensive skills. Jurgen Klopp knows this too, but he needs to sign a player as a number six in order to put Mac Allister back in his number eight role.”

Liverpool’s first game after the international break is against Merseyside rivals Everton on Saturday afternoon.

The Toffees are coming off an impressive 3-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth but Liverpool are still the firm favourites to take all three points this weekend.

Darwin Nunez – who joined Liverpool for an initial fee of £64m last summer – has seven goal involvements in ten games this season but Enrique would “take Dominic Calvert-Lewin” over the Uraguay international.

“Obviously, Liverpool fans are not going to like hearing this from me, but with both Darwin Nunez and Dominic Calvert-Lewin fully fit, I think I would take Calvert-Lewin,” Enrique added.

“People seem to forget how good Calvert-Lewin is when he’s fully fit – he’s an excellent player.

“The way I see it – put Darwin Nunez in any world-class teams in the world and I don’t think he starts for most of them. However, if Calvert-Lewin could keep himself fit, I really believe he could be a starting number 9 for a world-class team, that’s the kind of level I see from him.

“Even when Darwin Nunez is scoring goals for Liverpool, I still have my doubts about him as a player under Jurgen Klopp. I love him and think he would do well for loads of other teams who play counter-attacking football – he’s outstanding for that – but for a team that presses a lot like Liverpool do, I’m not so sure.”