Alexis Mac Allister's Liverpool Future: No Contract Talks Amid World Cup Focus

Alexis Mac Allister’s Liverpool future has been pushed into the shadows of a World Cup semi-final.

While the midfielder prepares to start for Argentina against England at the 2026 World Cup, there is a very different kind of tension building back on Merseyside. No contract talks. No negotiations scheduled. Just silence.

A title winner, but no talks

Mac Allister arrived at Anfield from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer of 2023 for £35 million, a smart, decisive deal that looked like long-term planning. He quickly justified the investment, becoming a central figure in the midfield that powered Liverpool to the Premier League title in Arne Slot’s first season in charge.

He was busy, brave on the ball, and tactically reliable. The kind of player managers build around.

Then came last season. His form dipped sharply, mirroring a Liverpool side that lost its edge. The influence was still there in flashes, but the consistency that defined his first campaign slipped away. The club noticed. So did the rest of Europe.

Yet, despite that mixed trajectory, the facts are stark: Mac Allister has two years left on his current deal, and, according to BBC Sport, Liverpool have not opened talks over a new contract.

Madrid links, but no movement

His name has circled the transfer rumour mill often enough to feel familiar. Real Madrid have been regularly linked with the Argentine, a natural fit on paper for a midfield that prizes technique and intelligence.

But that’s all it has been so far: theory.

There has been no concrete progress, no formal steps towards a move. The same report states he is not in talks with any other club about a transfer. For now, there is no tug-of-war, no looming bidding war. Just a player under contract, in his prime years, drifting in a curious middle ground.

An anomaly in Liverpool’s midfield planning

The situation jars when placed alongside what is happening around him.

Dominik Szoboszlai, whose deal also runs to 2028, is reportedly in discussions over improved terms. Ryan Gravenberch signed a new contract in May, a clear show of faith in his future at Anfield after a stop-start beginning.

Those decisions paint a picture of a club trying to lock down its core. And yet Mac Allister, a Premier League title winner and a World Cup regular, sits outside that circle for now.

It is not just his case that raises questions. Curtis Jones also faces uncertainty, with Inter Milan pushing hard. Liverpool have already rejected a third bid from the Italian side, but the interest is real and persistent. The midfield, once the most settled part of the squad, suddenly looks full of moving parts.

Waiting on Iraola’s verdict

The key variable is Andoni Iraola.

The new Liverpool head coach is expected to work with Mac Allister next season, and the current expectation is that the Argentine will remain at the club. That alone cools the idea of an imminent exit, but it does not answer the longer-term question.

Liverpool may want to see how Mac Allister responds under Iraola’s methods before committing to a new deal. Does he thrive in a more aggressive, high-tempo structure? Does he regain the sharpness that defined his first year at Anfield? Does he become indispensable again?

For now, the club seem content to wait for those answers on the pitch rather than at the negotiating table.

A crossroads disguised as stability

On paper, there is no crisis. Mac Allister is under contract until 2028. He is not agitating for a move. No club is in advanced talks to sign him. He is expected to stay and play a role under a new manager.

But the lack of movement, while others around him secure their futures, hints at a decision still to be made rather than one already taken.

If he shines for Argentina at the World Cup and then catches fire under Iraola, Liverpool will have to move quickly to match his status with a contract that reflects it. If the inconsistency continues, the current pause may start to look less like a delay and more like a deliberate opening of the door.

For now, Mac Allister’s future sits in that fragile space between security and opportunity. The next few months – first with Argentina, then under Iraola – will decide which way it breaks.