Argentine world cup winner Alexis Mac Allister quickly made an impression and earned a nickname from his new boss at Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp has delved into Liverpool’s past to come up with a nickname for new signing Alexis Mac Allister – and he hopes it’s a happy omen.
Mac Allister was the first signing of the summer after the Reds signed him from Brighton for just £35million.
Klopp referred to his new Liverpool signing Mac Allister as ‘Gary’ in a nod to the former Reds midfielder.
Scot Gary McAllister caused a stir when he joined Liverpool on a free transfer in 2000 at the age of 35.
However, his skill and experience helped Liverpool win an FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup in his first full season.
He left the Reds in 2002 despite his relatively short time at the club. Mac Allister joins a relegated Liverpool side in Europe’s second tier league.
Next season they will play in the Europa League for the first time since 2016 and for the first time under Klopp.
Klopp hopes Gary and Szoboszlai can get off to a flying start in their preparation under the German.
He has expressed his happiness with the two acquisitions so far.
“Very happy! Two very good players.
“I immediately thought of nicknames and thought this would be a good nickname for Alexis… Gary! He plays soccer pretty well, just like Dom, of course.
“I was quite clear when we signed them, the reception from the public was quite good, internally it was excellent, the guys know football so they immediately said: ‘Oh my God…’ so it’s really nice.
“Now they’re here and it didn’t take long, I have to say, to impress on the pitch too, so that’s fine. Like I said, some changes, Trent cut his hair – [back to] the most successful haircut of his career, so he sacrificed looking cool for success, I like that!”
The Reds travel to Germany on Saturday before playing their first friendly match of the summer against Karlsruhe.
Despite ongoing transfer speculation over midfield pair Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, Klopp remains in good spirits.
