Arne Slot names surprise Liverpool player he 'watched a lot' before replacing Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool boss Arne Slot says he watched a lot of Alexis Mac Allister before he took over at Anfield, and not just because of the technical ability that the Argentine showcases in midfield.

Speaking ahead of facing Brighton, Slot has revealed that he was a big fan of former Seagulls manager Roberto De Zerbi, who is now in charge of Marseille. Hoping to learn from the way that De Zerbi set up his side, Slot says he used to watch a lot of Brighton matches, with Mac Allister, of course, a key player when he was on the south coast.

"He’s a player I would maybe play all three positions in midfield because he’s so comfortable in all three," Slot said during his press conference. "I think I saw quite a lot of him at Brighton because there was a manager who I was quite interested in back then — that was De Zerbi, of course.

• Liverpool team vs Brighton predicted amid Cody Gakpo call and Kostas Tsimikas hint

• Mohamed Salah contract reality should already be clear after latest Liverpool exit claim emerges

"I saw him a lot playing double six there and in some moments, he played as a 10. He can play both. In the moment, he plays a bit in between. Ryan [Gravenberch] is always the deepest; Dom [Szoboszlai] or Curtis [Jones] are playing a bit higher, and he’s in between.

"It depends on how dominant we are if he is the second number 10 or has to be the second number six. He can help a lot with us bringing the ball out from the back and is also capable of making the difference in and around the 18-yard box. We like to see him in both situations as both as we can."

Mac Allister has proven to be adept at playing all three roles in the Liverpool midfield since making his bargain $45m (£35m/€42m) move in the summer of 2023. The one he is most suited to, however, is the number eight position, where he is set to start for the Reds today against his former club.

Liverpool.com says: It is slightly surprising that Slot was such an avid watcher of Brighton. De Zerbi is an interesting coach, of course, and he will probably be back in the Premier League at some point, but there are more obvious elite coaches to be learning from in England and abroad. There are similarities between the way the Italian sets up and what Slot wants to do, though the Liverpool head coach has so far proven to be an ideal fit character-wise at Anfield.