Jurgen Klopp has claimed that he ‘desperately wanted’ to recruit Alexis MacAllister for Liverpool and heaped praise on the midfielder’s performance.

Last summer, Mac Allister became the Reds’ first signing as they began their rebuild. He joined Liverpool for £35 million from Brighton and Hove Albion and quickly established himself as a crucial player.

Mac Alliter has made 35 appearances in all competitions as Liverpool aims to win the Premier League and Europa League after winning the Carabao Cup. The 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina began the season in the No.6 position, but has since appeared in a more advanced role more frequently. In the past ten games, Mac Allister has four goals and five assists.

And Klopp was impressed with the 24-year-old’s performance on Merseyside. Klopp told reporters ahead of Liverpool’s match against Sheffield United: “I had no limits for him, and I didn’t want to limit him because I knew it was a player I desperately wanted.” Thank God, we got him. Everything he learnt at Brighton was quite valuable, but this is a new workplace with a little different job. You never knew how he dealt with that. Not from a football standpoint, but rather from a character standpoint, as there were numerous questions about whether he could play the six and so on. It sounds like it was five years ago, yet these types of talks only started a few months ago, and I was regularly asked the topic. These things always help, and playing a little outside of your comfort zone is always beneficial.

“We all know the eight is his best position but he can play the six anyway. I’m absolutely happy. We had talks before when we signed him, and after them I was super-positive that he’s a fantastic boy. But you see that then only when he is here. He is in the middle of the group, he is obviously the best English speaker of our Spanish faction. That’s great as well. They sit together on the table. If you would make a picture of that – and Ali [Alisson Becker] on top of that on the table usually – and then you go to the Copa America, it would be a funny picture how they treat each other then! Just a great player. Fantastic footballer, super-important for us.”