Liverpool's Pursuit of Akliouche Faces PSG Challenge
Liverpool’s search for life after Mohamed Salah has hit its first real test of the summer – and it’s coming from Paris.
The club have already moved once in the market, paying around €40m to bring Spain international Victor Munoz from Osasuna to Anfield. A significant deal, a clear nod to the future of their forward line. But it was never going to be the only one. Once Liverpool made it clear back in March that Salah would be allowed to leave for a new challenge, the scale of the rebuild out wide became obvious.
Their early focus landed on RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande. He looked like the perfect fit: young, explosive, already proven in a top league. Then the familiar power of Paris Saint-Germain cut across the plan. Reports emerged that Diomande favoured a move to PSG, and Liverpool’s supposed top target began to slip from view.
Now the same pattern is threatening to repeat itself.
PSG in control of Akliouche chase
Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche has been the latest name pushed towards the top of Liverpool’s list. On Wednesday, Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas revealed that Liverpool had made an initial approach to Monaco and checked on the availability of the France youth international, a player also firmly on PSG’s radar.
The suggestion was clear: Liverpool were in the conversation.
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, though, painted a sharper picture of where the power really lies. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he underlined that while there has been “plenty of speculation” about Liverpool hijacking the move, the reality is more straightforward: PSG are ahead, and Liverpool have not yet made a concrete play.
According to Romano, Paris Saint-Germain already have an agreement with Akliouche, and the player “wants to join PSG”. Talks between PSG and Monaco are ongoing, and while the clubs have not yet finalised a deal, the French champions are described as “firmly in control of the situation” and pushing to get it done quickly.
The warning is there, though. Romano referenced the recent twist in Morgan Rogers’ transfer as a reminder of how quickly a move can turn. Until the paperwork is signed, nothing is guaranteed.
For now, though, this is PSG’s race to lose.
Liverpool interest real, but measured
Inside Liverpool, Akliouche is not a fantasy name plucked from nowhere. The interest is genuine, if not yet aggressive.
The Athletic’s James Pearce, speaking on GiveMeSport’s Market Madness podcast, confirmed that Liverpool have discussed the Monaco right-winger internally and that an approach was made earlier in the window. Akliouche is on a list, not on a pedestal.
Pearce described him as “a possibility, rather than a kind of definite” target, stressing that he is one of several wide options currently being assessed before the club decide how to move. That line matters. It suggests Liverpool are tracking the situation closely without committing themselves to a bidding war they don’t control.
Price will also play its part. Pearce indicated that Akliouche could cost in the region of €50–60m – not a bargain, but still a cheaper route than prising Bradley Barcola away from PSG. In a market where elite wide players command huge fees, that sort of differential can shape strategy.
So Liverpool watch. They wait. They weigh up whether this is the moment to act, or whether PSG’s head start makes it smarter to pivot to another name on their board.
A test of Liverpool’s new-era recruitment
Strip away the noise and the picture is stark. Twice already this summer, Liverpool have circled around wingers who lean towards Paris. Diomande prefers PSG. Akliouche, by all informed accounts, wants PSG and has an agreement with them.
Liverpool, used to being the destination for ambitious young attackers, now find themselves working against the gravitational pull of a club that can offer Ligue 1 dominance, Champions League football and the financial muscle to close almost any deal.
That doesn’t mean they are out of the fight. It does mean their margin for hesitation is shrinking.
Akliouche remains on their radar, a live option but not an obsession. If PSG stumble in talks with Monaco, if the deal drags or the numbers spiral, Liverpool are well placed to react. If not, they will move on to the next winger on a list that will define how quickly they can reinvent their attack once Salah finally walks away from Anfield.
The question now is simple: in this new landscape, do Liverpool still shape the market, or are they forced to work around PSG’s shadow?
