When Brighton signed Alexis Mac Allister for £7m from Argentinos Juniors in January 2019, he didn't even qualify for a British work permit. Four-and-a-half years later, he departs the AMEX Stadium for Liverpool a World Cup winner and having just helped the Albion to Europa League qualification for the first time in their history.
No player has epitomised the rise of Brighton this past half a decade quite like Mac Allister. After being loaned immediately back to Argentinos Juniors and then spending six months with Boca Juniors while waiting for the right to legally enter the United Kingdom, Mac Allister finally arrived in England in January 2020.
He had just turned 22, was quite reserved and very much a number ten. Brighton were perennial relegation strugglers who would not finish higher than 15th in their first four Premier League seasons; two campaigns under Chris Hughton (who was manager when the Albion bought Mac Allister) and two under Graham Potter.
Mac Allister has grown and improved to the point he can now comfortably play anywhere in midfield and is looked up to as one of the most respected players in the Brighton squad, especially by the cohort of younger South Americans who also moved to Sussex.
Without the help and support of Mac Allister, it seems unlikely that Moises Caicedo, Julio Enciso and Facundo Buonanotte would have adapted quite so quickly to life in England and made the same impact on the pitch for the Albion.
Over the same timeframe, Brighton have grown and improved to go from bottom six to top six. The manner in which the player's career has mirrored the club's development is part of the reason why Mac Allister is so popular with Seagulls supporters, even as he completes his move to Liverpool.
Another is because he has been the consummate professional. Whereas Marc Cucurella and Leandro Trossard did all they could to engineer transfers away from the Albion, Mac Allister has only ever remained fully focussed and devoted to Brighton. A rare quality in the modern game but one to treasure.
The AMEX faithful took him to their hearts and he returned the affection. You could see that in the pride he showed at becoming the first ever Albion player to win a World Cup. In the way he talked about Brighton. And in those tears which flowed in front of the away section following the last game of the season at Aston Villa, when realisation dawned that he had probably played his final game in an Albion shirt.
Mac Allister's first appearance also came in the West Midlands. The date was Saturday 7 March 2020 and Potter afforded Mac Allister ten minutes from the bench in a 0-0 draw at Wolves, a game memorable only for being the final fixture before lockdown brought the 2019/20 season to a three-month halt.
He displayed some decent touches at Molineux in that brief cameo but it would be almost two years before Mac Allister was properly established as a first choice at Brighton. The moment when it felt like he had truly arrived came in January 2021 as a brace helped the Albion win 3-2 at Everton, recording their first ever victory at Goodison Park.
Despite being in and out of the side so much during those first two years, he never complained.
Instead, Mac Allister made the most of his infrequent opportunities, most notably with a last minute equaliser at Selhurst Park in October 2020. Jot that timely intervention against arch rivals Crystal Palace down as another reason for his popularity, as well as not being a bad way to open your Albion account.
His conversion from a number ten into a player capable of shining as a defensive or central midfielder or even on the left where he has enjoyed such success with Argentina helped turn him into a regular under Potter. It is with Roberto De Zerbi at the helm though that Mac Allister has really shone, buoyed from returning from Qatar with a shiny gold medal and immortality in his Argentine homeland secured.
Mac Allister's midfield partnership with Caicedo in De Zerbi's favoured 4-2-3-1 has been one of the fundamentals for the Seagulls soaring to heights. When Adam Lallana was ruled out for the rest of the campaign by a January injury, Mac Allister found himself moved forward to take over at number ten.
He has subsequently spent the second half of the campaign flitting between playing as a six and a ten. Sometimes, he has even switched roles mid-match. It's this versatility that makes him a complete midfielder and such a good signing for Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp is effectively getting three midfielders in one.
Mac Allister will also bring a set piece threat with him to Anfield. Of his 16 Premier League goals for Brighton, eight were penalties. Two of those have been high-pressure moments; a 98th minute spot kick which defeated Manchester United 1-0 at the AMEX in May and another last minute effort from 12 yards to rescue a 3-3 draw with Brentford a month earlier.
He can also take a decent free kick, as evidenced against Leicester back in September. Having been denied a wondergoal on the volley from distance earlier in the afternoon by a controversial VAR offside, Mac Allister struck a brilliant 25 yard free kick into the top corner to complete a 5-2 win for Brighton over the faltering Foxes.
Hard work, dedication and supreme ability have carried Mac Allister this far in his career. Albion fans will tell you he is destined for more at only 24 with room for further improvement. Even if the fee Liverpool have paid is more towards the £55m mark at the higher end of the rumours, that could look an absolute steal if Mac Allister continues to improve at the rate he has since that work permit was belatedly granted back in 2020.
To watch Mac Allister thread a pass through the eye of a needle to turn defence into attack or weave his way out of a tight spot through impossible control of the football is to watch a magician at work.
That privilege has been the preserve of Brighton fans for the past four years, but Liverpool supporters have now become the lucky ones.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Alexis Mac Allister: The complete midfielder who went from no work permit to World Cup winner.
