After completing his move from Brighton, new signing Alexis Mac Allister has now been handed his new squad number at Liverpool.
The 24-year-old became Jurgen Klopp‘s first summer signing to form part of a summer rebuild of the Reds’ midfield, with the transfer being confirmed on Thursday.
Now that the move has been announced, Mac Allister will wear the No. 10 shirt for the Reds, vacated by Sadio Mane after his switch to Bayern Munich last summer.
The former Liverpool forward left Anfield having made 269 appearances and scoring 120 times for the club, leaving an opening for the World Cup winner to take the No. 10 upon his arrival.
“I know how important the No. 10 is in football,” he explained in his first interview.
“I had the possibility to take the No. 8 as well, which is a big number for this club, because of Gerrard of course.
“But I decided on No. 10, because I’ve used it a lot of times, in Argentina, at Brighton, under-23s national team as well.
“It’s a number I really like and that’s why I chose it.”
Following the announcement of the move, claimed to be worth as little as £35 million, Mac Allister will follow in the footsteps of Philippe Coutinho and Luis Garcia in sporting the jersey.
It ends months of speculation linking the midfielder with a switch to Anfield, having attracted the attention of a number of top clubs after an impressive campaign during which he lifted the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar.
He played a crucial role in an excellent Brighton season which culminated in a sixth-place finish, registering 40 appearances in all competitions and scoring 12 times for the Seagulls.
Mac Allister’s contract runs until the summer of 2028 and his Liverpool debut could come on the opening day of the Premier League season in August.
