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What Manchester City can expect if they sign Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche

It's already been quite the summer for Manchester City in terms of their transfer business.

Never one to stand still in terms of squad evolution even when his team are at the very pinnacle of their powers, Pep Guardiola's evident quest for total perfection ensures that no player is safe from his wrath if they're not performing at the very highest levels each week.

Take Jack Grealish for example.

A huge part of City's treble-winning squad but cast aside a few seasons later.

With Kevin De Bruyne having called time on his career at the Etihad Stadium and Kyle Walker moving on with the likes of James McAtee and Yan Couto too, there was an inherent need to bring in new faces.

Hence why the club have already spent in the region of €173m (£149m) on Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri, James Trafford and Sverre Nypan.

For most clubs, that would be more than enough new faces about the place for one summer, particularly weighing up the financial outlay.

New Man City signings oozed classThe way that the Cityzens swept Wolves aside in their Premier League opener, too, suggests that they are going to be there or thereabouts again when it comes to the major silverware at the end of the season.

Reijnders was in a class of his own in that fixture, with the other new faces also looking like they'd played in that City side for years.

They simply oozed class.

Guardiola spoke to the press in the immediate aftermath of that victory, and whilst he conceded that there was an awful lot to be pleased about, he still wasn't happy with City's second-half performance.

That may go some way to explaining why it's being reported that the Premier League outfit are keeping a watching brief on Monaco's excellent right winger, Maghnes Akliouche.

Watching brief on Monaco's AklioucheThough there's no indication that the team from the principality want to sell, it's believed that offers in the region of €70m (£60m) may get the Ligue 1 side to the negotiating table.

The one stumbling block to any deal happening is whether Savinho is sold this summer.

If the Brazilian stays, then so does Akliouche, simple as that.

If, however, Tottenham come good on a potential offer for the player, that opens up the possibility of the 23-year-old Frenchman making the trip across the channel.

What would City be getting for their money, though, were they to follow up on their interest?For a start, they'll have a player who provided 10 assists alone in the 2024/25 Ligue 1 season, which was much more than any other player in the Monaco squad.

Five goals also gave him the fifth-highest scoring output amongst his colleagues.

Maghnes Akliouche Radar Chart - Ligue 1 2024/25Opta by Stats PerformHis pace is self-evident, and 14 fast breaks in the same time frame were also a squad best, whilst 50 dribbles finalised in the French top-flight from 106 attempted is a reasonable if not excellent return.

Savinho's 52 finalised from 102 attempted is a 51% success rate, slightly higher than Akliouche's 47.

2%, by way of comparison.

Savinho Pass Map - Premier League 2024/25Opta by Stats PerformThe Brazilian also has the edge in terms of passing accuracy, as his 666 passes finalised from 763 attempted mean an 87.

3% completion.

The Frenchman's 84.

9% is still impressive, especially when you consider that he made 965 finalised passes from 1137 attempted - significantly more than the City man.

Guardiola's 'total football' dreamWith Guardiola's adherence to 'total football' becoming ever more obvious, Akliouche's excellence in terms of his defensive work is something that works in his favour.

Winning possession back on 131 separate occasions is precisely 52 more times than Savinho, and 31 tackles won in Ligue 1 is more than the Brazilian even attempted in the English top-flight (23).

If discipline is also important, then two yellows for the 23-year-old in 2408 minutes of French top-flight football in 24/25 is a measure of how calm he remains in the heat of battle.

Savinho's three yellows is just as laudable given how much Premier League full-backs targeted him last season, though his cards came in 638 fewer minutes.

 Perhaps a nod to how much more physical Akliouche would find things were he to make the switch.

No urgency to do a dealThere's certainly no urgency on City's part, it would seem, even though they did court the player earlier in the year when ultimately nothing came of it.

It's therefore clear that they like him, but there's little point in progressing talks if there's not significant enough interest in Savinho.

​The knowledge that City may be willing to sell him after what was a perfectly acceptable season personally might just be what tips the balance, however.

For now, the status quo remains, but there's still plenty of time left in the current player market for things to change.

Jason PettigroveBetopick