Pundit Dean Saunders has now been airing his doubts over Alexis Mac Allister in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool midfield this season.
Saunders was speaking on talkSPORT this morning and said his biggest concern was Mac Allister’s lack of pace.
The pundit didn’t think the Argentina international had the recovery speed required for this Liverpool midfield, one he thinks requires a lot of unselfish running.
And perhaps even more controversially, Saunders also questioned if Dominik Szoboszlai was even an upgrade on what Klopp previously had.
Saunders said (9/11, 9:27am): “I’m not convinced. For a start, he’s got no pace.
“When we’ve seen him trying to get back the other day, you can see he’s got no pace.
“He’s a neat and tidy footballer, but saying that, when he’s keeping the ball, sometimes he gives it away and you think, that’s his game.
MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES
“He can’t give the ball away. Szoboszlai looks a player but are they going to be better than the ones they’ve had?
“They had genuine, unselfish midfield players like Fabinho, Henderson, Milner, Wijnaldum who cover the ground, I’m not sure.”
Saunders thinks Mac Allister is lacking a key attribute for this Liverpool midfield
Of course, there is still a lot of talk around a defensive midfielder arriving at Anfield in January.
Links to Fluminense’s Andre Trindade have now become very contradictory, with some sources claiming interest is finished, and some still pushing the move.
Either way, it does feel as if there’s still one missing piece in this Liverpool puzzle.
It’s a slight surprise that Wataru Endo hasn’t been handed more responsibility in important games.
Alexis Mac Allister was deployed in a deep-lying position at Brighton Hove Albion, but that was often alongside the defensive skill set of Moises Caicedo.
However, £35m Mac Allister does have more defensive work to do at Liverpool, and that may be why Saunders has highlighted his bold concerns.
Liverpool fans will trust that Klopp has a clear plan, and the manager has more than earned that faith over the years.
Perhaps Liverpool could still benefit from the skillset of one of their former players in their side today.
Dirk Kuyt has recently been discussing his old teammates, and claimed that Javier Mascherano is one of the most underrated players he ever played with.
A midfielder who could have done a stellar job for Klopp in his prime.