Interview | Alexis Mac Allister talks emulating Mascherano, positions and tactics
Alexis Mac Allister responds with a firm nod when asked if he remembers Javier Mascherano's time at Liverpool.
The Reds' new No.10 then goes on to recall those occasions of early-morning wake-ups back in Argentina to get his fix of Premier League football.
"Mascherano for us is a big player," Mac Allister says, speaking to Liverpoolfc.com during the tour of Singapore. “He was very important to the national team, big character, so of course I watched him."
Mac Allister is the seventh player born in Argentina to represent the club, having sealed his switch from Brighton & Hove Albion in early June.
Although he and Mascherano possess somewhat different skillsets, the 24-year-old does want to replicate the tenacity his Argentinian predecessor brought to Liverpool's midfield during a three-and-a-half-year spell between 2007 and 2010.
"We are not similar players, to be fair, but I know how Liverpool fans like that kind of game," he states. "It's about a mix of everything.
"I try to be good on the ball but once we don't have the ball I try to do my best to recover it. Hopefully, defensively, I can do a little bit like Mascherano.
"Maxi Rodriguez is another player that is Argentinian and was important for Liverpool."
Mac Allister's well-known versatility does enable him to operate in that shielding, defensive-midfield position Mascherano took up so brilliantly at Anfield.
But shining light on some initial chats with Jürgen Klopp, the player is expecting to mainly operate in a No.8 role in the season ahead.
"It's just a position. When you play football and you understand football, you can play wherever you want and that's my idea," Mac Allister says. "I try to understand football a little bit more every day. I feel it's a position that I fit really well."
Elements of the World Cup winner's class have been clear to see in his quartet of outings during Liverpool's pre-season so far.
The playing style and tactical set-up is entirely new to him – but was also one of a number of attractions when his move was in the works.
Mac Allister finishes: "I watch football a lot and I know how this team plays. Everything is there.
"I think it's a really good idea where the players can enjoy and play football. That's what we will try to do.
"Maybe it's not the kind of football that I was used to. It's quite different tactical-wise and these kind of things. But, of course, if I came here, it's because I spoke with Jürgen and I think the idea can fit me really well and I can fit into the idea.
"Off the pitch, everything was fantastic. And on the pitch, of course I need to keep learning and improving a couple of things that are maybe new for me. But I feel really good. The games that I've played, I felt good."