Maghnes Akliouche catches the eye for Monaco
One of the stand-out performers from Ligue 1 last weekend was Maghnes Akliouche, who played a starring role in Monaco’s win over Marseille. He’s a very highly rated talent and someone who’s been on the radar of top clubs for a while now.
He’s definitely a name to watch, along with another very talented young player in Elise Ben Seghir, who burst onto the scene last season. But for Akliouche to stamp his authority on such a big game like against Marseille, that’s always going to attract a bit of attention, and he’s expected to become one of Monaco’s next big talents.
It’s been a bit of an art form at Monaco in the last few years to develop young players like this and then sell them on for big fees, so I think we can expect Akliouche and Ben Seghir to be part of that conveyer belt – you can probably expect them to spend the next two years with Monaco before making a jump to a bigger European club, assuming that their development continues at this rate.
But when you look at that Akliouche performance, and how complete it was, with goals and assists, it’s phenomenal for a player of such a young age, so he’s certainly someone to keep a close eye on in France this season.
Mathys Tel always made Bayern Munich his preferred option
Mathys Tel has had to be patient, but is now showing what he can do at Bayern Munich. Still, I don’t think we’re yet at the point where we can talk about him being in Didier Deschamps’ plans for the national team.
Still, he’s certainly a talented young player, and he was on the radar of a number of top clubs before making the move to Bayern, though he was always very clear that he saw his future in Munich once their interest became clear. I think there was a hope that he’d stay in Ligue 1 for a bit longer or maybe even move on loan to a club pushing for promotion from Ligue 2, but in the end things moved so fast he ended up making the move to Bayern.
He didn’t play much to begin with, but after a period of adaptation, he’s looking like the real deal now, and it shows once again that Bayern’s eye for young talent is up there with the best. He’s making really impressive strides at this moment in time, and I suppose if Deschamps were to name something of an experimental squad between now and the Euros, there is a possibility that we might see Tel tested at senior level.
Still, for now I’d expect him to be someone Deschamps will keep watching from afar, but with Olivier Giroud potentially coming towards the end of his illustrious international career, there could be a space opening up in attack soon. Players like Tel and Elye Wahi look like they could soon be ready to step into that void.