Stephen Warnock has been mocked for labelling Alexis Mac Allister a ‘magnificent find’ for Liverpool because he was already in plain sight.
Liverpool paid Brighton just £35million for Mac Allister in the summer and with his form in 2024, he could be called the league’s signing of the season.
Considering that he was already a World Cup winner and had been at Brighton for four seasons, many fans joked about Warnock’s phrasing, as if Mac Allister was some obscure talent.
It does seem a bit harsh to focus on one word – after detailed analysis, the Sky Sports pundit clarified that the midfielder was ‘magnificent value for money’ – but such is the nature of social media.
‘They bought him from Brighton you pleb,’ wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter, unable to restrain themselves.
Sky Sports pundit Neil Warnock has been mocked for describing Alexis Mac Allister as a ‘magnificent find’
Fans were riled by Warnock using the word ‘find’, as if Mac Allister had been an unknown talent
‘Magnificent find? He was brilliant for Brighton and was a key component of the World Cup winning Argentina side,’ said another.
‘“Find,”‘ said one as they latched onto Warnock’s comment, adding a dollop of laughing emojis.
‘Who would have thought it, complete unknown, the lad, with a WC medal, 100-odd games in the PL,’ wrote one.
Unfortunately, their clever clogs comment was undermined by the fact Mac Allister had only accrued 98 Premier League appearances before moving to Liverpool, not 100 or more.
The Exploding Heads, a football parody show, created a sketch of a podcast imitating and mocking Warnock.
Co-host Ian Davison said: ‘It’s astonishing. It’s the greatest piece of footballing talent scouting I’ve ever seen from any club.
‘When they found Van Dijk, I thought yeah, that’s pretty good. But this guy, it’s another level, it’s terrifying.
‘They turned that potato into a gem. They saw this guy running around at some provincial grassroots club, I’m not sure I can pronounce it… Brichton?’
Mac Allister has arguably been Liverpool’s best player of 2024 and only cost them £35m
‘Breegton,’ chimed co-host Anthony Richardson. ‘It’s in South America.’
Davison said: ‘Right, well they don’t even have shoes there. I know that much. So they showed him a football, they showed him a goal, and they said: “This is how dreams are made.”
‘He wouldn’t have even known what a World Cup was. I mean, thank God for Liverpool for unearthing this guy’s potential.’
Fans on social media lapped up the mockery.
‘Liverpool invented scouting, by the way. Did you know?’ said one.
‘They didn’t find Alexis Mac Allister. They invented him,’ another claimed.
Another explained the entire premise of the parody. ‘Haha brilliant. I’m a massive Liverpool fan, but even I can appreciate how this pokes fun at some of the people paid to give opinions on the sport.’
Considering that Chelsea forked out £115m on Moises Caicedo and £58m on Romeo Lavia, £35m on Mac Allister is a bargain in comparison.
While he didn’t find his feet immediately at Liverpool, his form in 2024 has been exceptional.
He has been shifted from a number six role to a more advanced one and is flourishing with that creative responsibility.
Mac Allister, 25, has two goals and four assists in his last five league games, while he also netted in the FA Cup defeat by Manchester United.
