InterviewProud moments, nicknames and maté: Inside Alexis Mac Allister's start at Liverpool

But behind that memento is a tale of some quick thinking and negotiating required for the No.10 to actually keep hold of it.

After debuting against Karlsruher SC earlier this month, the midfielder politely declined the customary jersey swap with a counterpart in the tunnel post-match.

Mac Allister did offer up something else, though.

"I gave him the shorts," he laughs, sitting down with Liverpoolfc.com for a conversation at the team hotel in Singapore.

"We played the first game in Germany and there was a guy that asked me for my shirt. But when I found out I only had one, I said, 'Sorry, but I can't give it to you because it's the first one.'

"I know it's not an official [game] but it was my first shirt from playing for Liverpool, so I kept it.

"Now I've got it in the hotel but once I move I will try to make a space with all the shirts that I've got and put it there."

To go with that, the Argentina World Cup winner has already been christened with a nickname – or two – in his first few weeks with the Reds.

Unfortunately for Jürgen Klopp, his suggestion of 'Gary', in reference to former Liverpool midfielder Gary McAllister, hasn't stuck.

"I'm sorry, Gary!" Alexis says. "I don't have anything against him but I prefer 'Macca'.

"I know the people who have 'Mac' in their surname are called like this in the UK. I think it's the first time but, to be honest, I like it."

Inside Training: Reds land and train in Singapore

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By all accounts, Mac Allister has fitted seamlessly into the Liverpool squad, having sealed his transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion in early June.

Naturally, he has grown close to the Spanish speakers in the camp and those with a love for maté, the South American herbal drink.

Darwin Nunez and Alisson Becker have welcomed Mac Allister into their maté-drinking club – a nice, communal dose of life back at home.

"We are trying to get Lucho [Luis Diaz] into it but he doesn't want to," Mac Allister reveals, speaking in fluent English throughout the interview. "For us, it's something to share.

"You can have breakfast or do something but when the maté is there, you have a connection with the other person. It's like a routine for us.

"Maybe at the beginning it's not nice – if you try it the first time you won't like it – but it's to share and I like it.

"Of course I spend more time with the South American players – Ali, Darwin, Luis, Adrian, Diogo Jota – but, to be fair, everyone has been really helpful.

"I didn't know anyone. It was easy because since the first day they helped me a lot, they came to me, so everything was easy."

Focusing on matters on the pitch, Mac Allister is looking to bring the quality, smarts and measured aggression that made him a crucial figure for Brighton and Argentina.

The comments from his new manager and teammates would suggest he's doing that already.

"I think all offensive players are like, 'Oh my God', licking their fingers for a pass from him," Klopp said on the We are Liverpool podcast.

That is, indeed, the case, backed up by Diogo Jota's interview post-Karlsruher. He stated: "I really like these kind of players, I have to tell you. They just see these passes. It's almost like you just need to make the run and they will see it."

On his play, Mac Allister analysed: "Off the pitch, I'm a very quiet guy, so maybe I'm not like those leaders that are talking every time. But on the pitch, of course, I always try to do my best and I try to be the example.

"We know how important this club is and I'm sure everything is going to be good.

"For me, of course, it's a dream to be here but I know I'm here to play football, so I try to prepare every day to do that and to enjoy."