Huge challenge awaits Alexis Mac Allister at Boca Juniors

Albion will learn a lot about their Argentinian signing over the next year or so when he dives into the goldfish bowl of Boca Juniors.

He will be a better, more mature footballer if he comes through it and ends up linking with the Seagulls in the Premier League next year.

When all is rubber-stamped, Mac Allister plans to learn a lot from the experience while his parent club watch from afar.

All that became obvious in the south-east corner of Buenos Aires yesterday as the 20-year-old (who looks and acts a bit older) aimed to complete his anticipated season-long loan switch to Boca and their unique home stadium, La Bombonera.

Mac Allister was being pursued by a handful of top clubs in Argentina as it became clear he would not be playing for Albion in 2019-20.

Alexis Mac Allister poses for a selfie with a fan on his way to his Boca Juniors medical

There were also suggestions from sources here of serious interest from Spain.

The Argentinian league is not as strong as it was and Boca are not at the height of their powers.

But their support remains as big and fanatical as ever.

If anything, the pressure will have been cranked up a notch ever since they lost to old enemy River Plate in the infamous Copa Libertadores final and then came up short in the league.

From this distance, it is perhaps easy to under-estimate the interest in Mac Allister or think of him as an unknown.

In fact, the pursuit of his talents has been one of the biggest stories in Argentina in the last couple of weeks as his loan stint at lowly Argentinos Juniors expired.

An interview took pride of place yesterday on the homepage of ole.com.ar, the nation’s leading football website.

Helping Argentinos away from relegation in the second half of the season was a decent effort.

They finished bottom but relegation is decided on points average over the three previous seasons and Argentinos did enough.

If, by the end of the coming season, Mac Allister is a regular at Boca, Albion’s investment of about £8 million last January will be looking very shrewd indeed. Especially if he has helped them to silverware.

Mac Allister said: “A good stint here would be if I brought my grain of sand to help the team go well.

“Obviously, if we reach a target like the Copa Libertadores, all the better.

“But my focus is on the group, in bringing humility, hard work and effort to help the team do well.

“I think that is the most important. Individual stuff doesn’t interest me much.”

Amid the media buzz, he added: “I’m not bothered about the fact everyone is talking about me, nor of being on the front page of the newspapers, on the radio and on the television.

“But what gives me a lot of pride is the fact a lot of important clubs have asked about me and that I’m now at Boca.

“I’ve had a hectic week, no doubt. My head has been all over the place.

“But, in the end, I’m very happy and I’m very comfortable that I’ve made the right decision and not one that I’ll regret.”

Albion would no doubt be keen to point out that, ultimately, they decide where their players are going on loan.

Boca have a passionate and demanding fan base

The chance of game time would be a key factor and that looks the biggest ‘if’ of the anticipated Boca deal.

Mac Allister’s dad Carlos played for Boca, which helps explain his lifelong support of the club.

Head coach Gustavo Alfaro cashed in on that to persuade – if he needed it – Alexis to sign.

That should be good news for Albion if they want to learn all about their player.

His reaction to being in the pressure cooker will be most instructive.

Mac Allister said: “I never got to see my dad play but I’m a Boca fan for as long as I can remember.

“I’ve been to La Bombonera many times, especially lately because (Alexis’s brother) Kevin is now there.

“I’ve always felt something special for this club so this is a dream.

“People here are different and that is something I have spoken about with Alfaro.

“He told me that, even if your realise from outside that Boca is one of the biggest clubs in the world, seeing it from within is something else.

“I loved hearing that and it was one of things which motivated me to take this decision.

“I’ve been to a lot of games here, including the first leg of the last final against River.

“Also in 2015 when Boca won the title against Tigre with a goal by (Fabian) Monzon with a header.

“As a kid, I always nagged my dad to take me.”

Mac Allister was wanted by Independiente, San Lorenzo, Racing Club and Estudiantes, some of whom would probably have been able to guarantee more playing time.

He was impressed by a conversation with Sebastian Beccacece, head coach at Independiente, who had big plans for him.

But he said: “I felt this opportunity at Boca, which I had in January but couldn’t take up, was one I don’t want to miss out on again.

“I’ve waited for this moment since I was a young boy.”

Juan Fernandez Quintero, a reporter who follows Boca closely, told The Argus: “At first he would not be starter, he would have to earn his place. But he has the ability to do that.

“There won’t be any pressure on his shoulders because there are more senior players who will need to carry the team on their backs, like (Carlos) Tevez, (Argentina striker Dario) Benedetto and (Uruguay midfielder Nahitan) Nandez.

“But he is an important signing because he is a player a lot of clubs want.”

Boca start their Superliga campaign at the end of July and will play each of the other 23 teams once. 
The season then moves on to a League Cup competition in March. 
There is also Copa Libertadores action to look forward to (Boca meet Athletico Paranaense of Brazil in the last 16 next month) and the domestic cup.
The season takes a break from early December until late January.