Argentina World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister signs for Liverpool in £55m deal

Liverpool have signed Argentine World Cup-winning midfielder Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton in a £55 million ($68 million) swoop.

The 24-year-old has signed a five-year contract with Jurgen Klopp's side.

Mac Allister joined Brighton from Argentinos Juniors in 2019 and played 112 games for The Seagulls, scoring 20 goals.

The playmaker was instrumental in the South Coast club finishing sixth in the Premier League last season to secure European football for the first time in their history.

He has 16 caps for Argentina and was a key figure in central midfield in the team that won the country's Third World Cup in Qatar last year.

He missed the opening defeat by Saudi Arabia but started the next six games as Lionel Scaloni's side went on to clinch the trophy in the final against France.

Mac Allister told the official Liverpool website: “It feels amazing. It’s a dream come true, it’s amazing to be here and I can’t wait to get started.

"We are adding a very talented, very smart, very technically skilled boy to our squad and this is super news, really it is."

“I wanted to be in from the first day of preseason, so it’s good that everything is done. I’m looking forward to meeting my teammates.”

Liverpool manager Klopp is looking to rebuild his midfield after a disappointing season in which the Anfield club finished fifth in the Premier League, missing out on Champions League football.

Midfielders James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all leaving Anfield and the club were priced out of a move to recruit Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, who is joining Real Madrid for €100 million.

Mac Allister added: “It was a fantastic year for me – the World Cup, what we achieved with Brighton – but now it’s time to think