Brighton & Hove Albion chairman Tony Bloom joined staff members and players on an end-of-season trip to Las Vegas last week - where farewells were reportedly paid to Liverpool-bound midfielder Alexis Mac Allister.
The 24-year-old is edging towards a move to Liverpool and has been undertaking medical tests after the Reds took advantage of a release clause in his contract that was only extended by the Seagulls last October.
Liverpool's hope is to conclude a deal for the midfielder before he joins up with his Argentina team-mates for their friendlies against Australia and Indonesia later this month.
After helping the Seagulls secure a best-ever Premier League finish and Europa League qualification for next season, Mac Allister enjoyed a brief end-of-season holiday to Miami, where he spoke to Argentine outlet Infobae and insisted he was "calm" despite the endless speculation about his future.
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However, it has now been revealed by The Athletic's Brighton correspondent, Andy Naylor, that after their historic sixth-place finish in the Premier League the club's chairman, Bloom, flew the team out for an end-of-season celebration in Las Vegas. It was there where players and staff reportedly said their "final goodbyes" to Mac Allister as both Liverpool and Brighton remained locked in talks over a move for the midfielder.
Writing on Twitter on Wednesday, Naylor said: "Chairman Tony Bloom joined Brighton players and staff on a trip to Las Vegas last week, which included final goodbyes to Liverpool-bound Alexis Mac Allister. Several young players skipped the end of season celebration. You have to be at least 21 to gamble in Nevada."
Manager Roberto De Zerbi had previously admitted he was braced for the possibility of losing the 2022 World Cup winner along with team-mate Moises Caicedo this summer, telling reporters last month: "I think that can be the last game of Alexis and Moises (Caicedo), I'm really sorry. They are two great people and two great players. The policy of Brighton is like this. I think it's right they can leave, can change teams and play in a level higher. We are ready. We have to find other big players to play without Alexis and Moises.
“If you ask me about Caicedo and Mac Allister, I love them and they are two big, big players and can play in a big European team. They can play in every competition. I hope for them they can play [for the] best team in the world, because we’ll be the first big fan of them.”
If Mac Allister does put pen to paper on a contract as a Liverpool player later this week, supporters can expect to catch a first glimpse of their summer signing in Germany when the Red face Karlsruhe and Greuther Furth during their pre-season training camp next month.
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