Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has been backed by pundit Graeme Souness for a big move after his World Cup heroics that saw Argentina lift the World Cup for a third time.
The Argentinian, who turned 24 today (December 24), was a kingpin for Lionel Scaloni's side in Qatar as they dramatically romped to becoming world champions on penalties after a sensational final against France that ended 3-3 after extra-time.
Prior to the tournament, Mac Allister was starting to turn a corner with Brighton, scoring five goals in 14 Premier League appearances for the Seagulls. Now, with interest from London duo Arsenal and Chelsea, Souness believes it is time for the 24-year-old to move onto bigger things.
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Writing in the Daily Mail, Souness commented: “He’s a top-four player and the big guys will be looking at him now and thinking, ‘We’ll have some of that’. He has proven he can play at the highest level and has already done it in the Premier League.
“There is very little risk attached to this boy. He can create, score and works his socks off - that type of player, they are hard to find.
“At 23, Brighton won’t be able to keep him for long and good luck trying to negotiate a new contract.”
Chelsea boss Graham Potter, who departed Brighton in September for Stamford Bridge, already has a former Seagulls teammate of Mac Allister's in Marc Cucurella back under his wing whilst Arsenal spent £50million to sign defender Ben White from the AMEX in 2021.
It is part of Brighton's model to buy cheap and sell for a significant profit with midfielder Moises Caicedo and winger Leandro Trossard also having bigger clubs sniffing around for their signature.
The 24-year-old was bought by the south-coast outfit in January 2019 from Argentinian side Argentinos Juniors but immediately returned on loan until then spending the first half of the 2019/20 season on loan at Boca Juniors.
In 86 appearances for the Sussex side, the Argentinian has scored 13 goals and provided six assists with six of his 14 caps for Argentina, as well as his only goal, coming at the World Cup.
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