PSG line up a fourth bid for Akliouche as Liverpool’s approach comes too late

Paris Saint-Germain are putting together a fourth offer for Maghnes Akliouche, according to L’Equipe, and it is expected to be worth somewhere around 50 million euros. Monaco have turned down the first three.

Liverpool have enquired about the same player in the last few days. On the face of it that makes this a fight between the French champions and a Premier League club with money to spend. It is not really that, because Akliouche has already agreed a five-year contract in Paris and has made it clear that Paris is where he wants to go.

The argument is between the two clubs

PSG’s first attempt was worth about 35 million euros, and it went down badly in the Principality. Their most recent rejected bid was higher again, but still short of Monaco’s price. Where the finish line sits depends on which French outlet you read: Get French Football News, relaying L’Equipe, puts Monaco’s asking price at 70 million euros, while through July the figure most often reported in France was 50 million.

Either way, three offers have come in and none has been close enough. The fourth is the one that tests whether Monaco’s number is a real one or an opening position, and PSG have reason to think the gap has narrowed, because the two clubs’ positions have moved towards each other over the past fortnight.

Why PSG moved again now

The timing is not a coincidence. Kang-in Lee’s move to Atletico Madrid went through at the weekend, which took a senior attacking midfielder off PSG’s books and freed up both the role and the budget. Akliouche has been earmarked for that slot for months, going back to when the interest first surfaced in the spring.

Monaco’s own position has weakened in the same window. They have already sold Aladji Bamba to Newcastle this summer, and a club that has begun cashing in tends to have less appetite for a long standoff over the next one. Akliouche, meanwhile, is on holiday after the World Cup, which is part of why nothing has been signed yet.

Liverpool are shopping in a difficult market

Liverpool’s interest is real and their need is obvious. Mohamed Salah left at the end of last season after nine years, Andoni Iraola took over from Arne Slot, and the new manager has said plainly that a winger has to be signed. Jeremy Jacquet and Victor Munoz have come in, while Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate have gone the other way.

The problem is that Liverpool keep arriving at the point where a player has already decided. They were willing to go to a reported 86 million pounds for Yan Diomande before Real Madrid agreed that deal at the weekend. Now they are asking about a 24-year-old who has told them he prefers Paris. Six goals and six assists in Ligue 1 last season, and a reputation as one of the better ball carriers in France, explain why they asked anyway.

How it gets settled

If the fourth bid lands near 50 million and Monaco accept, this is done quickly, because the contract on the other side is already agreed. If Monaco genuinely want 70 million, PSG will have to decide how much they want a player who is desperate to join them, and Liverpool will get a second look at a situation they have so far only been able to watch.

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