“There’s every chance…” – Ian Doyle issues Real Madrid claim which could worry Liverpool fans

Seasoned Liverpool reporter Ian Doyle isn’t ruling out the possibility of Real Madrid ‘sniffing around’ Reds midfielder Alexis Mac Allister during the summer transfer window.

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The Argentine has been linked on and off with Los Blancos for the past several months, and The Athletic‘s Mario Cortegana claimed in recent weeks that the 27-year-old continues to be ‘well-liked’ at the Bernabeu.

The World Cup winner’s dad Carlos has repeatedly shot down transfer rumours surrounding his son, but that has done little to dampen the speculation involving the former Brighton star.

Doyle fearful of Real Madrid approach for Mac Allister

In a readers’ Q&A for the Liverpool Echo, Doyle was asked if he think Mac Allister will leave Liverpool in the summer, and he hasn’t completely dismissed that scenario.

The reporter wrote: ‘I’ve long had a hunch that Mac Allister will leave at the end of the season, with Real Madrid his next destination. However, the player’s form this campaign has been less than anyone would have wanted and has seen such talk largely dissipate.

‘But this is a World Cup year. And if Mac Allister has a good one with Argentina, there’s every chance Real will be sniffing around him and, with two years left on his contract, if a new deal isn’t agreed then Liverpool would have a decision to make should a big-money offer come in.

‘I would rather Mac Allister didn’t leave, though. At his best he is a fantastic player and in the long-term could link very well with Florian Wirtz. He’d be a difficult one to replace.’

Are Real Madrid likely to go in for Mac Allister this year?

Doyle made reference to the 27-year-old’s decline in form compared to last season, which could carry the silver lining of Real Madrid opting not to pursue him unless he stars at the World Cup in the summer.

Despite being Liverpool’s last-gasp match-winner at Nottingham Forest last weekend, the midfielder was deemed by Frank Leboeuf to have had his ‘worst game’ for the Reds, and it isn’t the first time that the performances of our number 10 have come in for criticism this term.

Nonetheless, the Argentine is an elite operator when he’s at his best, and his contract situation at Anfield – whilst not being mission-critical urgent – is something which’ll probably need addressing over the next few months.

If Mac Allister were to have a strong finish to the club season and impress at the World Cup, it’s not unthinkable that Real Madrid could try their luck for him, or that the player might view this year as his likeliest opportunity to sign for the Bernabeu giants, if he wishes to do so.

The lure of Los Blancos is difficult to resist for many footballers, and it’s one of the very few clubs for which an exit from Liverpool would be considered a sideways or upward move, so there may be concern among Kopites of an approach from the Spanish capital for the 27-year-old.

Hopefully Florentino Perez will ultimately decide that, if a midfield revamp is in order in Madrid, his preferred targets will be those not currently playing at Anfield.

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