Alexis Mac Allister and Jude Bellingham have made themselves household names with English football fans this season.
Ironically, the duo both made waves at the winter World Cup to inflate their price tags tenfold. While Mac Allister ultimately came out on top, helping Argentina lift the trophy for the first time since 1986 to immortalise his legacy, Bellingham - a mere 19-year-old - was the standout name for England.
The former has continued to excel at Brighton, steering the club towards a potential debut European campaign. A match-winning penalty helped sink Manchester United on Thursday - doing Liverpool a favour in their Champions League pursuit.
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Reports in Argentina have suggested Mac Allister could join the Reds this summer for £60million. In previous weeks, talk of signing Bellingham dominated the transfer agenda until Jurgen Klopp dismissed the claims - urging realism about what Liverpool can do in the market.
But is there much between the two players? For half the price, could Mac Allister be a shrewder option than his English counterpart?
Well, as far as league goal statistics are concerned, absolutely…
The 24-year-old’s consolation strike against Everton took his tally to 10 for the season. Bellingham, by contrast, has only netted seven for Borussia Dortmund, despite a double at the weekend. A lot of emphasis is placed on xG, the analytic used to calculate the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
The data shows that Mac Allister’s xG in 2022-23 is 11.4, considerably higher than Bellingham’s (6.2). Despite operating in a deeper role under Roberto De Zerbi, the Brighton man has the upper hand offensively.
As far as passing is concerned, Mac Allister also comes out on top for accuracy (86.4 percent) - although Bellingham (81.3 percent) has created more goals for his teammates. The England wonderkid’s four assists trump the solitary set-up Mac Allister managed for Joel Veltman against West Ham United earlier in the season.
Their contrast in styles can be analysed by stats when both players are in possession. Bellingham, a box-to-box powerhouse with a relentless engine, has carried the ball 7238 yds this season - dwarfing Mac Allister’s 5123 yds. However, the Seagulls midfielder has given the ball away far less, being dispossessed just 34 times compared to Bellingham’s 55.
On the defensive front, just three tackles separate the two players but Mac Allister (22) lags behind the 19-year-old in blocks (49). At Liverpool, however, the Brighton ace would have Fabinho or Jordan Henderson to lean on defensively, while Bellingham is very much an all-action, do-it-all midfielder in the heart of Dortmund’s engine room.
Both players can claim to be enjoying the better season. After all, Brighton are outside bets for a top-four spot and Dortmund have kept the Bundesliga title race going until May - both unthinkable feats at the start of the season.
Liverpool supporters would rejoice at the prospect of signing either star but, as Klopp hinted at last month, only Mac Allister appears a plausible option. Given the stats and his much inferior price tag, you may be surprised to learn he has more than held his own against the future of English football.
Mac Allister vs Bellingham (league only)
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