Manchester City Pursues Alexis Mac Allister from Liverpool

Manchester City has circled Alexis Mac Allister. Liverpool, for now, is ready to slam that door shut.

The Premier League champion is reported to be weighing up a move for the Argentine, who has just two years left on his contract at Anfield. On paper, that gives Liverpool a familiar dilemma: extend, sell, or risk repeating the mistakes made with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konaté, both of whom were allowed to walk away for nothing.

This time, the club cannot afford to drift.

From title pillar to tactical puzzle

Under Arne Slot in the 2024/25 campaign, Mac Allister stood out as one of Liverpool’s most reliable performers in a title-winning side. He knitted play together, set the tempo, and looked every bit the modern midfielder the club thought it had signed.

Last season told a different story.

At 27, he looked strangely heavy-legged at times. The intensity dipped. Defensively he struggled, and he offered very little in the final third. The contrast with his previous level was stark enough to stir debate among supporters about whether Liverpool should cash in while his value remains high.

His World Cup displays underlined the contradiction. Mac Allister produced strong performances on the biggest stage, but he also attracted similar criticism in certain games: questions over his defensive work, questions over his influence when the game sped up around him. That inconsistency fuels the argument that this might be the right moment to listen to offers.

And now City is at the door.

A rare solution: player for player

Straight sales between the two clubs are rare. Straight swaps are almost unheard of. Yet this situation hints at a deal that could reshape both midfields.

Liverpool’s need is obvious. The squad still lacks a clear, specialist defensive midfielder. Trey Nyoni is expected to step up, but his best football comes when he roams box-to-box, not when he’s chained in front of the back four. Ryan Gravenberch has been asked to cover as both a No. 8 and a No. 6, but his strengths lie in ball retention and carrying, not in patrolling space and shutting down danger.

The hole Fabinho left has never truly been filled.

That is where Nico Gonzalez enters the conversation. City paid Porto £50 million for the Spanish midfielder in February 2025, seeing him as a long-term anchor in the middle of the pitch. He can sit deep, play with control, and bring a physical edge — the exact profile Liverpool has been missing.

City’s own midfield has shifted dramatically. Rodri has gone to Barcelona, a seismic departure in any other summer, yet City has already moved to replace him with Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille in a $116 million deal. Elliott Anderson has come in for that role as well, while Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic and Nico O’Reilly have all been used in defensive midfield at various points.

Despite losing Rodri, City has not ruled out selling Nico. Newcastle is interested. Inside the game, he is still seen as a player with untapped potential, but he already has marquee performances on his record – notably a dominant display against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

For Liverpool, that matters. This is not a prospect. It is a No. 6 who has already handled the biggest stages.

Iraola’s blueprint and Liverpool’s gap

Nico’s profile aligns neatly with the kind of holding midfielder Andoni Iraola relied on at Bournemouth: someone who can sit in front of the defence, stay calm under pressure, and still play with bite. Compared with Tyler Adams and Alex Scott, he represents a clear upgrade in that role.

Drop that player into Liverpool’s midfield, and the structure suddenly makes more sense. Nyoni could be used where he is most dangerous, driving from deeper areas rather than babysitting the back line. Gravenberch could focus on progressing the ball rather than plugging gaps. Dominik Szoboszlai and Florian Wirtz would have a more secure platform behind them. Harvey Elliott’s minutes could be managed more creatively.

Liverpool will lose Curtis Jones, but the sheer number of options in central midfield means the squad can absorb that departure. What it cannot continue to absorb is the absence of a true defensive specialist.

That is why a player-for-player deal starts to look less outlandish.

Value, risk and a ticking clock

On the open market, Mac Allister would almost certainly command a higher fee than Nico. That reality gives Liverpool leverage. Any swap would be weighted in its favour, potentially bringing in around $20 million on top of Nico’s arrival.

Some will argue that even then, it is not worth it. Mac Allister is a proven international, a World Cup winner, and on his day a high-level operator in multiple roles. Letting him go to a direct rival is never an easy sell, especially when he has already shown he can thrive in a title-winning Liverpool side.

But the contract clock is loud.

Liverpool cannot afford a repeat of the Alexander-Arnold and Konaté sagas, watching a major asset run down his deal and leave for free. The club must either secure Mac Allister on a new contract that reflects his status and future role, or be ruthless enough to consider offers – even when they come from Manchester.

A straight refusal might win applause in the short term. The real test will be whether Liverpool can match that stance with a clear plan: either rebuild around Mac Allister, or reshape the midfield with the kind of specialist it has been crying out for since Fabinho left.

The decision will define more than one player’s future. It will say everything about how bold Liverpool is prepared to be in the next phase of this rivalry.