Liverpool did have to see off “late interest” from Chelsea to land Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, according to The Times reporter Paul Joyce.

The trusted journalist claims that Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino made a last-ditch effort to persuade his fellow countryman to make the switch to Stamford Bridge but Mac Allister had already made up his mind to join the Reds:

Alexis Mac Allister signs for Liverpool. Fee officially undisclosed, but understood to be £35m as reported by @FabrizioRomano https://t.co/ahF9oHNCUK

— paul joyce (@_pauljoyce) June 8, 2023

Considering how cheaply Mac Allister was available due to his release clause, there was always a danger of a late hijack by another club, but it appears that Liverpool had already made enough headway in negotiations that Pochettino’s late intervention ended up being a fruitless endeavour.

Liverpool have got themselves a bargain in Mac Allister

While there is still some dispute among sources about whether the Reds are paying £35m or £45m, it is still a very low figure for a 24-year-old, who is also a World Cup winner.

The Reds’ recruitment team, including the outgoing sporting director Julian Ward, deserve tremendous credit for getting a deal in place for Mac Allister.

The Mac Allister deal frees up funds for other signings

The low-cost nature of the transfer consequently means the club have plenty of extra money to play with when going after their other summer transfer targets.

Joyce claims that Liverpool have shown an interest in four other midfielders including Nice’s Khephren Thuram, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Manu Kone, Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch.

Ironically, despite not being as highly rated as Mac Allister, at least three of those four could end up being more expensive than the Argentine. Thuram’s asking price is said to be €60m (£52m), Kone’s is €50m (£43m), while the Saints want around £50m for Lavia.