Arne Slot has identified the reason behind Alexis Mac Allister’s recent upturn in form amid renewed transfer speculation surrounding the Liverpool midfielder.
Mac Allister has been linked with North West rivals Manchester United and long-term admirers Real Madrid.
However, his father, Carlos, has stressed the Argentine is focused on discussing a new contract at Anfield as he enters the final two years of the deal he signed after joining from Brighton for £35million in 2023.
The 25-year-old’s performances dipped earlier this season due to fitness struggles following a long-term injury, with Slot also pointing to the challenge of building new midfield partnerships after last summer’s squad overhaul.
“I think it’s always a combination of factors, but fitness is a very important one,” said Slot, whose team are at Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon. “I think the moment a player starts to play more and more games, he gets fitter and fitter.
“He’s not the only example of that, Dominik Szoboszlai is an example of that. After two-and-a-half years, you cannot compare him any more with the player of two-and-a-half years ago. Mainly the focus is on Hugo (Ekitike) and Florian (Wirtz) and the new ones, but Dom had the same trajectory.
“The second thing is if you bring in a few new players and a few leave, then you need new connections in the team so that takes a bit of time before everyone is ready, especially if you cannot constantly play with the same team for the reasons I’ve explained many times.
“They were not fit enough to play every single time, every three days. So that takes then a little bit of time, and if you score a set-piece against Sunderland, then the last half-hour feels nicer than if you concede against Nottingham Forest after half an hour.”
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