Forget Salah: 9/10 Liverpool man showed why he’s a £100m star in the making

Alexis-MacAllister

Liverpool appear to be in a league of their own at the very top of the Premier League having romped home to yet another convincing victory in the tricky division this weekend away at West Ham United.

The 5-0 win versus the hopeless Hammers was definitely Arne Slot’s men at their vibrant best in attack, who now have 45 strikes next to their name and funnily enough 45 points, with Nottingham Forest lurking behind in second spot on an inferior 37.

Arne-Slot

The popular Dutchman was all smiles at the final whistle, and rightly so, as the Reds easily beat another top-flight opponent to maintain their lengthy lead at the top of the summit.

Best Liverpool performers vs West Ham

It doesn’t exactly take a genius to work out that Mohamed Salah must have been at his spellbinding best for the win to be so emphatic, as the Egyptian attacker picked up even more goals and assists to add to his ever-increasing season total.

By the end of the entertaining contest, Salah had helped himself to one goal and two assists, with his final contribution on the day allowing Diogo Jota to score late on to pile on even more pain for Julen Lopetegui’s worn-down side.

Astoundingly, Salah now finds himself on 37 goals and assists overall for the season, as the 32-year-old continues to show no visible signs of rust this far into his playing days.

Other standout performers for the table-topping Reds included Trent Alexander-Arnold, who got in on the goalscoring act himself too, whilst homegrown ace Curtis Jones also stood out with an assist before being substituted off for Harvey Elliott.

Alexis-MacAllister-1

But, there was another face in the high-on-confidence group that stood out even more than those named above, with the midfield star in question running the show to allow his side to stroll to the three points.

Liverpool’s £100m star in the making

The former Brighton and Hove Albion man might not have bowed out from the thrilling match with a goal or an assist, but the sensational number ten was combative and stylish in equal measure all the same for his team as a key part of the jigsaw.

After all, Alexis MacAllister’s sensational lofted pass in the first half would trouble the Hammers defence enough to not be able to stop Cody Gakpo’s eventual strike for 2-0, whilst the Argentina international would also show this gritty other side to his game when bravely winning the ball back for Salah to stroke home for 3-0.

MacAllister’s performance in numbers

Stat

MacAllister

Minutes played

90

Touches

79

Accurate passes

56/62 (90%)

Accurate crosses

2/4

Accurate long balls

3/3

Key passes

3

Total tackles

4

Total duels won

7/12

Stats by Sofascore

It was an extremely polished display from MacAllister when glancing at the table above, who only misplaced six of his 62 passes at the London Stadium, whilst also throwing himself into seven successful duels.

He would even pick up a glowing 9/10 rating from Daily Express journalist Charlie Malam at the final whistle, as he declared his individual showing as ‘terrific’.

macallister-liverpool

As a result, MacAllister is slowly becoming as important to the Liverpool cause as Salah is for Slot, with the ex-Seagulls midfielder even bearing similarities to the likes of Declan Rice and Enzo Fernandez, according to FBref.

Indeed, that Premier League duo are among the most similar players to the World Cup winner across Europe’s top five leagues.

With the London-based pair costing their current clubs £105m and £106m, respectively, in recent times, it looks as if Mac Allister’s worth may be heading in the same direction. According to CIES Football Observatory, he’s already valued at roughly €88m (£73m), with a £100m figure certainly not far off.

The Premier League pace-setters only forked out £35m to land their desired man last summer, however, with this investment proving to be a very wise one now.

arne-slot

Whilst the magic of Salah in attack will obviously be key in a top-flight title arriving at Anfield come the end of the season, Slot will also be well aware it’s a team effort, with MacAllister another figure he hopes he can rely on to deliver consistent brilliance.