Alexis Mac Allister’s contract situation was catapulted into the spotlight by the player himself last month, when he publicly declared his ‘sadness’ not to be offered a new deal by Liverpool.

Unlike midfield colleagues Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, the Argentine was not given fresh terms this year after a dreadful third season at Anfield under Arne Slot.

Mac Allister is probably leaving Liverpool next summer

After what he served up last season, there were plenty of Liverpool fans who would gladly have seen Mac Allister leave the club in the summer. Having stayed put, though, the 27-year-old now looks back to his best, and there is a good argument that he should be kept.

In the meantime, Liverpool have been strongly linked with Alex Scott, who is reportedly available to buy from Bournemouth for £80-100m in January. Asked about the possibility of Scott ending up at Anfield, though, Lynch says that a summer move, after Mac Allister has left, is much more probable as things stand.

“I thought it was interesting the reporting [on Alex Scott], which chimes with what I said last week, which is the idea that Liverpool are not necessarily looking at that January market for midfielders,” the journalist said while speaking to Anfield Index.

“The thing about the midfield and why they’re going to need one at some point is because Mac Allister is probably going to go in the next kind of couple of windows, obviously not this January one, but probably in the summer. He’s not going to sign a new contract and it brings up the possibility of him leaving next summer and he’s going to need to be replaced.

“That’s why Liverpool are looking at midfielders and are probably going to sign one pretty soon. That’s why Alex Scott in January makes no sense to me. It might be that Mac Allister moves on in the summer and then Alex Scott comes onto the radar as someone they like, but also Lamine Camara is there as well.”

As Lynch says, fans should not be expecting a mid-season signing, with Mac Allister set to keep his role as a key player for the remainder of the season.

“For it to be done in January, it would just surprise me if they make a move in that position,” he said. “Outside of an injury that changes things, I would be surprised even if his price creeps down if they were to go for Alex Scott for £80m in January.”

If Mac Allister keeps up his good form, there will be pressure to hand him a contract extension. It will certainly be difficult for Liverpool to find a player at his level in the market next summer. Nevertheless, as things stand, the direction of travel seems to be that the World Cup winner will depart no matter what.