Here's a fun Liverpool rumour

I’m going to be up front with you, this rumour does not come from a high quality source. But we have fun with speculation here, and this one at least feels plausible.

Caught Offside is citing their own original sources in a report that Liverpool are interested in Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche. He’s a 23-year-old dribbly boy who’s turned in a couple solid seasons at Ligue 1 level, and importantly for Liverpool, he’s a left-footed right winger. He ticks quite a few boxes as a potential Mohamed Salah understudy.

Please enjoy some highlights.

His dribble and carry OBV gets a big thumbs up from me, but it’s also great that he’s looking pretty well-rounded. He’s much more of a dribbler and playmaker than shooter, but he doesn’t have terrible shooting numbers either. He’s also got a lot of pressing volume, which doesn’t necessarily mean he’s an effective defensive player, but it does mean he has the fitness and work rate to become one.

The key passes are what potential suitors for Akliouche are really going to like. He’s picked up 10 assists in Ligue 1 this season, and he’s got a lot of passes into the box. There’s some excellent variety here too, with through balls, passes into feet, and some occasional lofted diagonals for headers.

His shot map isn’t the best, but it’s also not concerning. He’s not taking a bunch of low value shots and killing attacks with them. I think the combination of his dribbling output, assists, and lack of crap shots indicates pretty good final third decision making. And, if you’re looking for a reason this is a plausible Liverpool signing: They love trying to buy low on guys who underperformed their xG.

If you like Akliouche’s game, it’s better to buy now than after he scores 10 goals next year.

I really enjoy Akliouche’s all-around attacking game and statistical profile, and I think he’d be a good fit at Liverpool or a handful of other Premier League teams. The rumoured price of €60m is a bit steep, but certainly not outrageous, and I wouldn’t be shocked if Monaco managed to find a buyer in that range. This dude rocks. Two thumbs up.

More transfer rumours

• In related news, Spanish media doesn’t seem so convinced that Florian Wirtz to Liverpool is a done deal. “Wirtz no es imposible,” says AS, which I’m sure you can translate without assistance. How does a team get all of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Vini Jr. and Florian Wirtz into the same lineup? No clue.

• If Liverpool does buy Wirtz, they’re definitely going to need to sell at least one of Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz. The Mirror says Bayern Munich are asking about Gakpo, while Ben Jacobs says Diaz could go get a bag in Saudi Arabia. If Diaz has any interest in the move, Liverpool should take the money.

• Liam Delap has told all interested parties that he’s choosing Chelsea, with David Ornstein breaking the news and every big name journofluencer subsequently confirming. I guess it is ultimately unsurprising that the former Man City youth team management have convinced the Man City youth player to join them.

• Rule 1 of transfer rumours: Swap deals never happen. But maybe, this time, it’ll be real! Apparently Man United are negotiating some potential player-plus-cash swap deals for Victor Osimhen. The Mail has this report about Rasmus Hoijlund being involved, and aggregator accounts suggest there’s a paywalled one about Alejandro Garnacho, but I can’t confirm because I will not be giving the Daily Mail money.

• Leroy Sane’s agent is fishing for a big money bidding war, with both Spurs and Arsenal reportedly interested in him. Neither of those teams particularly love paying the big Man United, City, and Chelsea-level wages, so I don’t feel like this is going to happen anytime soon.

• Portuguese outlet Correio da Manhã claims that Arsenal execs are in Lisbon to negotiate for Viktor Gyökeres. In other news, my best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from a guy who knows a kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night.

• The Telegraph says that Marc Guehi and Bryan Mbeumo are Newcastle’s top targets and they’re willing to throw down the very big money it’ll take to secure them. Screwing up last summer is coming in handy for PSR this summer!

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