Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez are long-time Real Madrid targets - but Blancos should steer clear of Argentine duo after season full of red flags

Liverpool are obviously in slightly better shape than Chelsea at the moment, as underlined by the fact that they're fourth in the Premier League table, 10 points better off than the Blues, and thus poised to qualify for next season's Champions League via a top-five finish. However, there is simply no disguising that this has been a calamitous campaign for the Reds, who were widely expected to win the league again after spending more than £450 million on a title-winning team.

They'll instead finish the season trophy-less after suffering an unforgivable 18 defeats - and counting - in all competitions. There are several reasons for Liverpool's dramatic decline, including their set-piece struggles, an inability to break down low blocks, injuries to key players, and Mohamed Salah's falling-out with Arne Slot.

We'll also likely never know just how deeply the players were impacted by the devastating loss of Diogo Jota.

Mac Allister, to his credit, has refused to use Jota's passing as an excuse for Liverpool's shocking season.

"Of course, we remember Diogo and it was a complicated period, but I don’t believe that’s why this year was so difficult for us," the former Brighton man said. "If you had asked me at the beginning of the season what I expected, I still would have said that this team was there to fight and win competitions, but unfortunately, that didn't happen.

"We have to keep working, because this year doesn't do justice to the club."

Unfortunately for Mac Allister, it's not done justice to his status as one of the elite midfielders in England either.

While Salah's slump has generated more headlines for the simple fact that his goals and assists were so crucial to last season's title triumph, Mac Allister's dip in form has been much more mystifying. Father Time can hardly have caught up with the Argentine, who is still only 27, while he didn't have a very public bust-up with his manager either. Mac Allister has simply stopped playing well - and for no known reason.

As Roy Keane pointed out in the Sky Sports studio at Old Trafford on Sunday, the Argentine had a "shocker" in Liverpool's 3-2 loss to Manchester United. He turned his back on a shot from Matheus Cunha and ended up deflecting the ball into the back of his own net for the game's opening goal, his poor pass led to United's second, while Kobbie Mainoo scored the winner from Mac Allister's mishit clearance.

The sad thing is that Mac Allister's dreadful display didn't come as a surprise to Liverpool supporters who were hailing him as one of the club's best-ever buys after his first two years on Merseyside. He's been miles off the pace all season long.

Initially, Mac Allister's issues were attributed to a slower-than-expected recovery from the combination of niggles that led Liverpool to bringing a premature end to his 2024-25 campaign. With the league already won, it was decided to leave Mac Allister out of Liverpool's final two games to ensure that he could properly rest during the summer and return fully fit and refreshed for the following season.

However, his preparations were interrupted by injury and Mac Allister's not looked right since. His defensive numbers have plummeted and he's been regularly overrun in midfield, sparking fears among the fans that his 'legs have gone'.

Of course, it may simply be a case that Mac Allister is simply suffering from fatigue. Despite last year's fitness problems, no Liverpool player has featured in more games this season, suggesting that he's been overused. The problem for Liverpool, though, is that he's not going to get a proper break this summer either, with Mac Allister still expected to be a starter for Argentina at the upcoming World Cup.

It, thus, wouldn't make any sense for Madrid to even consider signing a player who has struggled for both form and fitness over the past 12 months - and to such an extent that Liverpool are said to be open to selling him, which should be a red flag for Los Blancos in and of itself.

One can also easily make a case against Madrid pursuing their reportedly longstanding interest in signing Mac Allister's compatriot, Fernandez.

Unlike his international team-mate, the Chelsea No.8 hasn't struggled for form this season. On the contrary, Fernandez is enjoying the most prolific campaign of his career to date, having already netted 13 times in 50 outings in all competitions. The 25-year-old has also scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea reached the FA Cup final with a morale-boosting 1-0 win over Leeds United at Wembley.

"He's got so much talent," interim boss Calum McFarlane enthused in his post-match press conference. "He's got so much fight. He's massive for this group. And the best thing about Enzo is that he can do a bit of everything. But when it gets tough, you see the fight in him, you see him driving the group on, you see him making tackles, you see him fighting for every loose ball."

Just five days previously, though, Fernandez looked nothing like a leader of men.

Liam Rosenior may have made a lot of mistakes during his embarrassingly short spell in charge, but one of the biggest was putting his faith in Fernandez, whose performance in the inexperienced Englishman's final game in charge, against Brighton on April 21, was nothing short of a disgrace.

Fernandez was given the captain's armband for the game at the Amex, but didn't win a single tackle during a shamefully insipid showing. Basically, he performed like a player that no longer wants to be at the club - because he clearly doesn't. Fernandez has flirted so openly with Madrid that even Chelsea's infamously weak owners felt compelled to suspend him for two games.

Of course, he's not the only key figure at Stamford Bridge that feels the Blues made a massive mistake in sacking Enzo Maresca midway through the season, and Rosenior was certainly a ridiculous appointment. However, it's worth noting that Fernandez's fondness for calling out underperforming team-mates while publicly pushing for a move to Madrid led to some accusations of hypocrisy within the Chelsea dressing room.

It should not be forgotten, either, that Rui Costa was left so disgusted by Fernandez's conduct during the negotiations over his £105 million ($120m) winter-window move to Chelsea in January 2023 that the Benfica president felt he had no other option but to sell the midfielder because he didn't want to let him anywhere near the first-team dressing room ever again.

In that context, it seems very fair to ask whether Fernandez is really the right kind of character for a Madrid squad sorely lacking in leaders right now?

There may be some merit in making a move for Mac Allister at some point in the future, but only if the price is right and he rediscovers the dynamism that made him one of the best midfielders in England, as the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga have never really convinced on a consistent basis.

However, signing Fernandez should be a non-starter. He's certainly got the ability to shine in Spain, but Chelsea would doubtless demand a nine-figure fee for a World Cup winner who still has six years left on his current contract - and he's just not worth the trouble.

Madrid already have enough players with a questionable level of commitment. The last thing they need is another one.