Speaking at a press conference in Chicago on Tuesday, Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola confirmed that the Reds "definitely need to sign a winger". This news was hardly a shock to anyone, nor a revelation.
Liverpool's attack currently has a sizeable Mohamed Salah-shaped void in it, while the long-term injury suffered by Hugo Ekitiké has depleted options even further.
Yan Diomandé and Bradley Barcola have appeared their primary, if ambitious, targets throughout the summer, but have the Reds pivoted to an alternative attacker on the market?
As reported by Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports News, Liverpool "have made an initial approach" to Monaco to "check on the potential availability" of wide-attacker Maghnes Akliouche. Paris Saint-Germain have had several bids for the 24 year old France international rejected by les Monégasques, the highest of which was €40 million. It is believed that the side from the Principality are holding out for closer to €50 million, which is around £43 million.
At the time of writing Rush the Kop understand that an enquiry was made into the 24-year-old’s availability earlier in the summer, but there has been no fresh approach.
Monaco finished seventh in Ligue 1 last season, thereby set to enter the UEFA Conference League for the very first time. Missing out on a top four finish has led to Monaco's most-prized assets being linked with a move away, none more so than Akliouche. With just two years remaining on his contract, now is the right time to sell, so could he soon swap Monte Carlo for Merseyside?
Why do Liverpool want to sign Maghnes Akliouche?
Put succinctly, Akliouche is one of the highest-rated young forwards on the planet. The 24 year old was part of Didier Deschamps' star-studded squad that reached the World Cup semi-finals this summer. He did only see seven minutes of action throughout the tournament, coming off the bench against Iraq in Philly, but this is through no fault of his own; look who he was competing against!
He has though impressed while representing les Bleus before. Two years ago, Akliouche featured in every game as Thierry Henry's side reached the final of the Olympic Games, scoring against Spain at Parc des Princes, albeit the hosts were beaten 5-3, and had to settle for silver.
At club level, he joined Monaco at the age of 15, making 139 appearances for les Rouge et Blanc to date, racking up 18 goals and 27 assists across the last two Ligue 1 campaigns. During this time, he also scored against PSG, Crvena zvezda and Barcelona in the Champions League, the latter a memorable 2-1 win at Stade Louis II.
Overall, he ranked highly for a wide-variety of metrics in Ligue 1 last season.
Maghnes Akliouche Ligue 1 statistics 2025/26
Statistics | Maghnes Akliouche | Ligue 1 rank |
|---|---|---|
Goals | 6 | 33rd |
Assists | 7 | 3rd |
Expected goals | 7.23 | 31 |
Successful dribbles | 26 | 34th |
Total shots | 48 | 31st |
Shots on target | 19 | 26th |
Big chances created | 8 | 27th |
Key passes | 44 | 19th |
Note: All statistics courtesy of SofaScore.
Despite only playing 2,410 minutes in Ligue 1 last season, out of a possible 3,060, Akliouche ended up generally towards the top of a wide-variety of metrics. The numbers underline that he is an excellent dribbler and has the end product to go with it, concluding the campaign with five assists and and two goals across his final ten appearances.
Akliouche is clearly very talented and has incredible potential. Is he an elite-level attacker right now? Possibly not, but he is certainly a player Liverpool fans should get excited about, if he does indeed arrive.
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