Liverpool Faces Dilemma Over Alexis Mac Allister Amid City Interest
Manchester City has tested the water. Liverpool is ready with a cold response.
Reports in England suggest City is eyeing Alexis Mac Allister, sensing an opportunity with the midfielder entering the final two years of his deal at Anfield. On paper, it is the kind of move that would inflame a rivalry. In reality, it may force Liverpool into a decision it has been putting off for too long.
A champion who lost his edge
Under Arne Slot in the 2024/25 campaign, Mac Allister looked like a cornerstone of a title-winning midfield. He dictated games, knitted play together, and carried himself like a player built for a team chasing trophies on multiple fronts.
Last season told a very different story.
At 27, he often looked heavy-legged. His defensive work faltered, his pressing lost bite, and his attacking output dipped. The sharpness that once defined him faded, leaving long stretches where he offered little at either end of the pitch. The World Cup brought flashes of his quality, yet even there some performances drew familiar criticism and reopened the debate among Liverpool supporters: cash in now, or double down and rebuild around him?
That question becomes louder when the club’s recent contract missteps are dragged into the light. Liverpool allowed Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konaté to run down their deals and walk away for nothing. The hierarchy knows it cannot afford a repeat with Mac Allister.
City’s interest and a rare solution
City’s interest changes the tone of the conversation. This is not a mid-table side sniffing around a distressed asset. This is the reigning powerhouse willing to do business, and potentially in a way English clubs almost never explore: a player-for-player trade.
Liverpool’s need is obvious. The squad still lacks a specialist defensive midfielder. Since Fabinho left, the club has patched the role rather than properly replacing it. Trey Nyoni is expected to step up, but his strengths lie in box-to-box work, not anchoring the back line. Ryan Gravenberch has been asked to fill gaps as both a No. 8 and a No. 6, using his composure on the ball to steady games, but he is not a natural destroyer either.
The spine remains incomplete.
One name on City’s books ticks those boxes: Nico Gonzalez. The Spaniard arrived from Porto in February 2025 in a £50 million move, a statement signing at the time. He was meant to help shape the next iteration of City’s midfield after Rodri, only for the picture to shift again.
Rodri has since gone to Barcelona. City, rather than building around Nico, has turned to Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille in a $116 million deal. Elliott Anderson has also joined, while Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic and Nico O’Reilly have all been used in defensive midfield roles. The door is not closed on Nico leaving, with Newcastle already circling.
City still see him as unfinished business: a former Barcelona talent who has not yet hit his ceiling but has already produced big-game performances, including a standout display against Real Madrid in the Champions League. The tools are obvious — physical presence, composure on the ball, and the discipline to sit in front of a back four.
For Liverpool, that profile is exactly what has been missing. It mirrors the kind of No. 6 Andoni Iraola trusted at Bournemouth, a midfielder who shields, snaps into duels and recycles possession with control. Compared with Tyler Adams and Alex Scott, Nico would represent a clear upgrade in that specific role.
The trade-off Liverpool must weigh
A straight swap, though, would be unlikely. On the open market, Mac Allister would almost certainly command a higher fee than Nico. That is why any serious conversation would revolve around a package: Nico plus a significant sum, potentially in the region of $20 million, heading to Anfield.
Some Liverpool fans would still balk at the idea. Mac Allister, at his best, is a more rounded midfielder, a proven performer in a title-winning side and on the biggest international stage. Letting him go to a direct rival always carries risk, especially if City unlock the version of him that dominated games under Slot.
Yet the broader squad picture offers Liverpool some cover. Curtis Jones is on his way out, but the club still has Gravenberch, Nyoni, Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz and Harvey Elliott capable of operating in central roles. There is creativity, ball-carrying, and energy in abundance.
What there is not, at present, is a true Fabinho successor.
Nico would give Liverpool that anchor. His arrival would free Nyoni to develop in his natural, more adventurous position and reduce the need to shoehorn others into an unfamiliar holding role. It would also allow the club to target another box-to-box option down the line, rather than spending the next window scrambling for a No. 6.
A decision Liverpool can’t delay
The worst-case scenario is clear: Mac Allister stays, his form never fully recovers, and Liverpool watch him leave for nothing in two years, repeating the Alexander-Arnold and Konaté saga with another high-value asset.
The club has two realistic paths. Extend his contract soon and commit to rebuilding his role at the heart of Slot’s midfield, or listen when elite clubs like City come calling and extract maximum value while they still can.
City’s interest has turned a slow-burning issue into an urgent one. Liverpool can either draw a hard line and lock Mac Allister down, or use that interest to reshape a midfield that has been crying out for a specialist holding player.
The clock on his contract is ticking. Which way does a club with title ambitions turn?
