Why Liverpool are ready to sell Mac Allister - and the four players who could replace him

Updated: 10 Sept 2026 11:46 BST | 5 min read

Alexis Mac Allister, Liverpool — © IMAGO

Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

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Alexis Mac Allister’s departure from Liverpool is being greeted with a sense of inevitability, but why are the Reds ready to sell such a reliable player and who could potentially replace him?

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Mac Allister appears resigned to his fate: his time at Liverpool will come to an end in summer 2027.

He admitted to being “sad” that the Merseyside club have not opened contract talks with him over an extension to his deal, which expires in 2028.

Current ETV

Alexis Mac Allister

M, DM (C)

Liverpool

Alexis Mac Allister

M, DM (C)

Liverpool

ETV Range

€61.9M - €75.7M

“As it stands, Liverpool are not going to act upon a new contract for him. Only the course of the season could change their mind,” transfer insider Ben Jacobs explained, CaughtOffside reports.

“My feeling is that Mac Allister could well depart Liverpool. And some of that is Liverpool being dispassionate and looking at data.”

So what does the data say and is there anything that could potentially change Liverpool’s minds?

Data model shows ‘rapid decline’ in Mac Allister’s performance

Liverpool will have their own data models within the club, but analytics experts SciSports outline exactly the type of trend that is pushing the Reds to selling the 27-year-old next year.

It claims there has been a ‘rapid decline’ in Mac Allister’s form over the course of the last six months using its SciSkill metric, which is drawn from hundreds of in-game data points.

SciSports believes that Mac Allister reached his peak around December 2024, at which point Liverpool were dominating the Premier League, and has been on a significant decline ever since.

© SciSports - Alexis Mac Allister, Liverpool, Career Development September 2026

There has been no immediate rush to sell him because he remains a top-10 Premier League midfielder – sixth equal with Ryan Gravenberch in SciSports’ analysis – but the signs of a terminal decline appear to have already set in.

Of course, Liverpool have given themselves flexibility. Should Andoni Iraola be instrumental in resurrecting the best level of a player still potentially with several years left at the top, they can perform a U-turn and retain him.

Who could replace Mac Allister?

Working on the basis that Liverpool will want someone who can come in and be a starting player, yet also someone who can develop into a player capable of matching Mac Allister at his peak, FootballTransfers used SciSports to study alternatives.

The search was conducted with the following parameters:

Position: Central or defensive midfielder

Style: 80% similarity or more to Alexis Mac Allister

SciSkill: 100+

SciSkill Potential: 115+

Ten options were provided, but clearly unattainable players such as Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Moises Caicedo, Carlos Baleba and Kobbie Mainoo were discarded. On top of this, there was also Ryan Gravenberch, who is already on Liverpool’s book.

Here are the four candidates to replace Alexis Mac Allister at Liverpool:

Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid)

SciSkill: 110.2

Potential: 117.5

Estimated Transfer Value (ETV): €51.1m

The Frenchman is unsettled at Real Madrid and was linked with a possible departure this summer. He remains at the club but is very much playing for his future.

He has been in a period of stagnation in terms of his development, but could a move to Liverpool reinvigorate an enormous talent?

© IMAGO - Aurelien Tchouameni playing for France at the 2026 World Cup

Maximo Perrone (Como)

SciSkill: 106.8

Potential: 124.4

Estimated Transfer Value (ETV): €28.3m

Of the four players on this list, the 23-year-old Argentine is the one who is developing the most quickly. No doubt Como boss Cesc Fabregas is aiding his development in Italy.

He has previously been on Manchester City’s books but was sold permanently to the Italian side in 2025 for €13m and he has only kept on improving.

With two caps for Argentina, could he become Mac Allister’s heir for both club and country?

Yasin Ayari (Brighton)

SciSkill: 103.9

Potential: 125.8

Estimated Transfer Value (ETV): €27.9m

The youngest player on this list at 22, Ayari has the highest potential ceiling and, on paper at least, would cost the smallest amount. However, realistically Brighton will expect far more for the Swedish talent than his ETV.

Mac Allister made the jump from the south coast club to Liverpool successfully, with Ayari having been groomed to replace him since joining the Seagulls for €4m in January 2023 from AIK Solna.

Poised for his first full season as a Premier League starter after three goals and three assists last term, if he impresses the Reds will surely take an interest.

© IMAGO - Yasin Ayari: Ready to follow Mac Allister in leaving Brighton for Liverpool?

James Garner (Everton)

SciSkill: 101.7

Potential: 115.2

Estimated Transfer Value (ETV): €30.5m

There’s already an option for Liverpool within the city, with Everton midfielder Garner having impressed sufficiently to attract transfer interest from Chelsea and Aston Villa this summer.

A former Manchester United youngster, it would be a particularly controversial move if the Reds were to swoop for the 25-year-old, who is the weakest of the four excellent options on the list, both in terms of current ability and potential.