Alexis Mac Allister was in tears on the pitch as he finished what is likely his final game for Brighton, with a move to Liverpool now expected this summer. Already guaranteed sixth, Brighton played out a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday to hand their opponents a spot in the Europa Conference League. Despite their progress into the Europa League, Brighton’s model remains to sell their star players for the right price – including Mac Allister. The Argentine was clearly emotional on full-time at Villa Park, applauding the travelling fans and being consoled by manager Roberto De Zerbi and captain Lewis Dunk. According to TyC Sports journalist Gaston Edul, this comes as “Anfield awaits,” with colleague German Garcia Grova adding that the player and his father are “finalising” a €70 million (£60.8m) switch to Liverpool. It now seems an open secret that Mac Allister will be joining Jurgen Klopp’s side, not least due to frequent admissions from De Zerbi over his future. Speaking after the 2-1 loss at Villa, as relayed by The Athletic, the manager admitted that both Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo are likely to move on. He also praised Mac Allister as both a player and a person, saying that players like him deserve to play at a higher level. It is believed that Mac Allister has agreed a five-year contract with Liverpool worth around £100,000 a week, with the option of a further 12 months built in. He is set to become the first signing of the summer at Anfield, with Klopp explaining in his own post-match press conference that “a really busy period hopefully starts now.”
