James Pearce has claimed that a move to Liverpool for Maghnes Akliouche is a ‘possibility’ this summer and has hinted at how much the AS Monaco winger would likely cost.
Earlier this week, Sky Sports reported that the Reds had made an ‘initial approach’ for the 24-year-old, in addition to their much-publicised interest in Bradley Barcola of Paris Saint-Germain.
Fabrizio Romano outlined that Akliouche seems most likely to join PSG, with the European champions being his preferred option and a contract agreement apparently in place, although Pearce isn’t ruling out the Merseysiders from landing him.
Speaking about the Monaco winger on GIVEMESPORT’s Market Madness podcast, The Athletic’s Liverpool correspondent said: “They’ve certainly had some discussions about it.
“I was told yesterday that there had been an approach earlier on in the window for the Monaco right-winger, and he is just one of a number of targets being kind of assessed at the minute before they decide exactly what they’re going to do.
“He would certainly be a cheaper alternative to Bradley Barcola if you couldn’t get the PSG man. I think you’d be looking at €50m-€60m [£42.7m-£51.3m] for Akliouche, so yeah, he’s certainly one that I say is a possibility, rather than a kind of definite they’ll be making a move for him.”
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Considering that PSG would reportedly seek more than £125m to sell Barcola this summer, Akliouche would appear to be a far more easily attainable alternative for Liverpool, who very much need a top-level winger to replace Mo Salah in their starting XI.
The Monaco star isn’t quite in the same premium bracket as his France teammate at the Parc des Princes, with the latter having a better goal return across his career and being more proven at the highest level in the Champions League and World Cup.
However, if Barcola proves to be out of reach, then the 24-year-old would be well worth elevating to primary target status, and signing him would absolutely be preferable to not strengthening on the flanks at all this summer.
Even though Rio Ngumoha has put himself forward as an option to play on the right, Liverpool still need to bring in another winger so that they’re adequately stocked in terms of squad depth, with another gruelling season in store for the Reds.
We’ll have to wait and see whether LFC will get to the stage of actively bidding for Akliouche, but there certainly seems to be an opportunity to bring him to Anfield if they can muster a sustained pursuit for him.
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