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Ligue 1 profile
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Tottenham’s season continues to go from bad to worse as the club continues to tumble down the league table. Following a 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth in midweek, Spurs now find themselves sitting precariously in fourteenth place in the Premier League table. Just one victory in their last six league games has led to serious speculation over Thomas Frank’s future as club manager. However, with the club unlikely to make a managerial change anytime soon, reports have also suggested that the North London side may turn their towards the transfer market to find solutions to their growing problems.
One notable transfer rumour that continues to gather steam revolves around reports in France that suggest that Tottenham are desperate to sign Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche. The 23-year-old French forward has a market value of €45 million and recent remarks from Monaco’s head coach suggests that Akliouche may indeed depart the club in the coming weeks. “I am counting on everyone for the second part of the season, but Maghnes is free to make his decision. Those pertaining to his future are his to take,” said Sébastien Pocognoli ahead of Monaco’s tie with Auxerre. So who is Akliouche and why are Tottenham so intent on signing him this month?
How good has Maghnes Akliouche been this season?
Akliouche has been a regular starter for Monaco for two and a half seasons now, bagging an impressive 19 goals and 22 assists in 119 games for the Ligue 1 giants. That includes three goals and five assists in 23 games this season, however it would be fair to say that the young winger has struggled for consistency across all competitions for Monaco in recent months. “So far this season, Akliouche has been on par with his form from last season, though without a really good streak of games,” said Transfermarkt Ligue 1 expert Ronan Caroff, when asked about the player’s form this season. “This is not his fault alone. Despite a coaching change in October, Monaco have only won one Ligue 1 game since the start of November. But there is a wider picture to be seen: He got his first France national team call up this season, and has been called for all three windows. He’s only started one of his five caps for France to date, but still made an impact with his first goal and assist, and showing his versatility on various attack positions.”
Is Maghnes Akliouche ready for the Premier League?
Due to his growing presence in the Monaco first team, Akliouche’s market value has steadily risen from just €300k in December 2021 to where it now stands at an impressive €45m. In that time only eight players have gained more market value across all of Ligue 1, which clearly underlines the potential that Tottenham are seemingly keen to pick up with a sizable transfer fee this month. But is the younger French forward ready to make the move to the Premier League and solve Frank’s problems in attack? “I would rather see him moving next summer, Monaco lacks clear attacking options these days despite some fancy names and likely don't want to lose their main asset (both in football and market terms) in January without proper time to plan his succession,” noted Caroff when asked about a winter move for the Monaco star. “Though, if it had to happen now, I would consider him ready, he's now fit for the highest level with two consecutive Champions League campaigns under his belt, being a top non-PSG player of Ligue 1 and a French international. And we've seen with Rayan Cherki at Manchester City that the fear of too much physicality against these "artists" isn't really justified, and that they know how to adapt themselves or the game to compensate for that gap.”
Who else wants to sign Maghnes Akliouche?
Due to his performances for Monaco for the best part of three seasons, Akliouche has garnered interest fro a number of Europe's biggest clubs. While Tottenham are the only club to be seriously linked with a move in January, 2025 saw the 23-year-old talent get linked with moves to Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal and Inter Milan. However, reports in France suggest that Man City's long-standing interest in the player may force the former Premier League champions to consider a move for Akliouche in a bid to beat Tottenham to the young forward's signature.
