Liverpool's Winger Search Stalls as Akliouche Prefers PSG
Liverpool’s rebuild out wide is gathering pace, but one of Europe’s most talked‑about young wingers is slipping from their grasp.
The club have already pushed hard in the market, landing Spain international Victor Munoz from Osasuna in a deal worth around €40m. That move was never meant to be the end of their business on the flanks. With Mohamed Salah given the green light back in March to seek a new challenge away from Anfield, Liverpool’s recruitment team have been working through a list of high-end options to reshape the attack.
Yan Diomande at RB Leipzig was the first big swing. He quickly emerged as a leading target, only for the chase to stall once it became clear he preferred a switch to Paris Saint‑Germain. Liverpool backed away. PSG moved to the front of the queue. The pattern is starting to feel familiar.
Akliouche interest, but no Liverpool bid
On Wednesday, Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas revealed that Liverpool had made an initial approach to Monaco over highly rated winger Maghnes Akliouche. Posting on X, Thomas described it as an exclusive: Liverpool had checked on Akliouche’s potential availability and were monitoring a player also firmly on PSG’s radar.
That sounded like the start of a classic Anfield hijack. It isn’t there yet.
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has moved to cool the idea of Liverpool charging into the deal. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he stressed that Liverpool have not actually made a concrete move.
“There has been plenty of speculation about Liverpool hijacking the deal for Maghnes Akliouche but my information has not changed. If Liverpool make a move or enter the race, I will tell you,” Romano said.
Right now, the power lies elsewhere.
“Paris Saint‑Germain have an agreement with the player, Akliouche wants to join PSG and negotiations with Monaco are continuing,” he added. The clubs have not finalised terms, and Romano pointed out that transfers can flip quickly – citing Morgan Rogers as a recent example – but, as it stands, PSG are “firmly in control of the situation” and working to close the transfer.
So Liverpool are watching. PSG are acting. And Akliouche, crucially, is understood to favour Paris.
A ‘possibility’, not a priority
Inside Liverpool, the tone is more measured than the noise around a supposed hijack suggests.
The Athletic’s James Pearce, speaking on GiveMeSport’s Market Madness podcast, framed Akliouche as one name on a broader shortlist rather than a locked-in target.
“They’ve certainly had some discussions about it,” Pearce said. “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.”
That line matters. Liverpool have looked, they have asked, but they have not committed.
Akliouche would represent a significant outlay, yet still sit below the very top tier of fees. Pearce suggested a price in the region of €50–60m, and positioned him as a cheaper alternative to Bradley Barcola if Liverpool were unable to prise the PSG man away from Paris.
“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,” Pearce concluded.
Liverpool’s dilemma on the right
The picture is clear. Salah’s likely exit has opened up a major decision on the right wing. Munoz has arrived but does not, on his own, answer the long-term question of who will carry Liverpool’s threat from that side in the post‑Salah era.
They have already watched one primary target, Diomande, lean towards PSG. Now Akliouche, another right-sided option with the profile to grow into a leading role, is edging the same way.
Liverpool can still change the script. Monaco and PSG have not agreed a fee yet, and the market has already shown this summer how quickly a deal can spin once a new club steps in with conviction and cash.
For now, though, the French champions are dictating the pace, and Liverpool are left weighing up whether Akliouche is the winger worth breaking their current caution for – or just another name they let drift towards Paris while they look elsewhere for the heir to Salah’s right flank.
