According to reports, Manchester United will compete with Arsenal for the services of Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister. With the victors Argentina, the 23-year-old was one of the World Cup 2022‘s breakout stars, starting six of their seven games in Qatar.
As the only player from Brighton to ever start in a World Cup final, Mac Allister assisted Angel di Maria before Argentina defeated France on penalties to win their first championship since 1986.
Mac Allister had a productive first half of the 2022–23 season with Brighton, netting five goals in 14 Premier League games to help the Seagulls move up to seventh place in the standings before departing for Qatar. Mac Allister has been given two weeks off by Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi while the midfielder is still in his own country celebrating with the rest of the Argentina team’s World Cup victory.
A number of clubs are reportedly interested in Mac Allister’s services ahead of the new year as a result of his quick rise in the Premier League and in the World Cup.
In addition to Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus, Inter Milan, and Atletico Madrid, a recent report suggests that Arsenal has entered the competition to capture the former Argentinos Juniors teenager.
The latest club to consider making an offer for Mac Allister, who has been targeted by the Red Devils since the beginning of last season, is Man United, claims Fichajes.
According to the article, United does not want to “lose the opportunity” to sign the highly regarded Brighton player, who may give Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes’ likes some healthy competition.
Allister to Manchester United a possibility?
The Argentine’s worth is said to have improved dramatically since Brighton paid €8 million (£6.9 million) for him in January 2019, and the Seagulls are currently not under any pressure to sell the midfielder who is under contract through June 2025.
In fact, Brighton CEO Paul Barber recently confirmed to talkSPORT that the club and their No. 10 are in talks about extending his contract.
“We were working on a new contract for Alexis in the build-up to the World Cup.”
Barber has acknowledged that he anticipates additional teams to express interest in Mac Allister as a result of his outstanding World Cup performances for Argentina.
“As we’ve always said, when players do well, when their profile increases, there’s always going to be interest in them,”
Barber added.
“And this will be no different, Alexis is no different, there was interest in him before the World Cup and I’m sure there will be more interest in him afterwards.”
“All we can do in situations where you’ve got a great asset is to try and protect yourself as best as possible. We’ve done that with several of our players and staff over the last several years, and that’s all you can do in these situations.”
“We hope Alexis will continue to be playing for us for some time to come.”
While Mac Allister is rumoured to be a target for Manchester United, Erik ten Hag is reportedly prioritising offensive reinforcements in the wake of Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure, with PSV Eindhoven star Cody Gakpo understood to be one of their top targets going into the January transfer window.
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