£47.5 million star makes summer transfer admission; late Tottenham push failed to materialise

Tottenham target Maghnes Akliouche admits knowing about staying at AS Monaco a few days before the transfer window slammed shut

Tottenham Hotspur had quite a busy end to the summer transfer window as they were involved in several operations right till the deadline day.

For example, in the wake of Dominic Solanke’s latest ankle injury, Spurs completed the signing of Randal Kolo Muani on a season-long loan from Paris Saint-Germain. Before that, the club landed Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig to address the No.10 position in Thomas Frank’s side. Not to forget, the north Londoners had faced several setbacks in the market to bring in a creative midfielder as a possible replacement for the injured James Maddison.

Tottenham had triggered Morgan Gibbs-White’s £60m release clause, only for Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis to intervene a block a move. Last month, bitter rivals Arsenal hijacked the Lilywhites’ deal for Eberechi Eze at the 11th hour, leaving the Hotspur Way chiefs and the fans totally frustrated. They also failed to sign Manchester City winger Savinho.

As an alternative to Savinho, Spurs had identified AS Monaco starlet Maghnes Akliouche. As per transfer insider Pete O’Rourke, the French talent was available for around £47.5 million. However, the Lilywhites did not make any advances, and he has since stayed with AS Monaco.

Tottenham target Maghnes Akliouche admits knowing about staying at AS Monaco a few days before the transfer window slammed shut.

Maghnes Akliouche of AS Monaco was on the radar of Tottenham during the summer transfer window

Maghnes Akliouche makes interesting admission amid Tottenham interest

One of the brightest talents in Ligue 1, Akliouche enjoyed a strong 2024/25 season. The 23-year-old was among AS Monaco’s chief creative outlets, registering 10 assists in 32 league games. He also netted five goals on top of that, thereby, attracting interest from several clubs across Europe.

This seemingly had an impact on the young creative winger’s performance in AS Monaco’s 1-0 defeat to LOSC Lille last month, with manager Adi Hutter claiming the outside noises have unsettled Akliouche. The French-Algerian talent responded to his critics strongly with a goal and an assist in Monaco’s enthralling 3-2 win over Strasbourg.

Ezoic

Akliouche recently spoke to the French media. The France youth international confessed that he knew he wouldn’t be leaving Monaco despite the rumours linking him to top European clubs.

“When did I realize I was staying at Monaco? Only three or four days ago. Before that, nothing was really decided. When I scored against Strasbourg, I kissed the club badge to show that I was staying,” Akliouche told French newspaper L’Equipe (h/t Le10Sport)

Tottenham must revive their interest in Monaco talent in January

Akliouche is a talented player with a bright future ahead, and it is no surprise why he was such a coveted commodity in the past summer transfer window. While he has stayed with Monaco, top clubs are bound to monitor his performances in Ligue 1 and Europe.

As far as Tottenham are concerned, they did manage to bring in Simons and Kolo Muani before the window slammed shut. However, the club bosses failed to sign a winger, and with Frank seemingly regretting not sufficiently addressing the creativity issue in his team, a winter move for Akliouche would not at all be a bad idea.

For now, the Hotspur Way chiefs must continue tracking the 23-year-old’s progress at the Principality Stadium