Manchester United currently sit third in the Premier League with 55 points from 32 matches, a position that puts Champions League football firmly within their grasp as the season enters its final stretch. However, the mood around Old Trafford remains brittle. Interim boss Michael Carrick suffered his first home defeat on Monday as Leeds United claimed a historic 2-1 victory at Old Trafford, their first league win there since 1981.
Carrick, appointed head coach for the remainder of the season after Ruben Amorim‘s dismissal in January, has steadily stabilised the club, but questions over the squad’s depth, particularly in attacking areas, grow louder with every stumble. With that in mind, the club’s summer recruitment plans are already picking up speed.
Manchester United set to pay £40m-plus for Monaco’s Akliouche
Transfer correspondent Pete O’Rourke, speaking on Football Insider’s Transfer Insider podcast, broke the news that Manchester United are firmly in the hunt for AS Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche ahead of the summer window. O’Rourke stated, “I’m sure there’ll be a number of clubs who’ll be keeping tabs on Akliouche this summer. He’s under contract at Monaco until 2029, so they would demand a decent fee for him, probably around £40m plus.”
That figure is well below Monaco’s previously stated asking price; last summer, the French club held firm at a valuation of around €70 million, a figure that ultimately proved too high for interested clubs. Reports from Media Foot now suggest that Arsenal and Chelsea have also joined the race with serious interest, and Monaco have reportedly slapped a £52–60m price tag on the 24-year-old, meaning United are in for a real scrap.
In Ligue 1 this season, Akliouche has scored 6 goals and recorded 3 assists in 26 appearances, contributing 9 goal involvements in total, at a rate of 0.41 per 90 minutes. His non-penalty expected goals (npxG) sit at 6.65, which puts him in the top 81st percentile of players in the French top flight, while Footy Stats shows he is averaging 1.40 key passes per game with a pass completion rate of 84.39%.
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Does Akliouche fill the gap that United genuinely need to address?
United’s transfer plans are becoming clearer as the end of the campaign approaches, especially with Carrick seemingly likely to be handed the Old Trafford reins permanently, and a wide attacker appears high on the agenda. Akliouche is not a penalty-box striker; he is a creative, technically refined winger who drifts inside and picks passes rather than simply hugging the touchline.
While most young wingers today rely on outright pace and one-on-ones, Akliouche plays more like a traditional playmaker, picking out teammates with everything from short dinks to inch-perfect through balls. That profile is the perfect option for United’s current system, particularly given that Zirkzee has scored just twice in 20 appearances this season, and United are open to offers for the Dutchman this summer.
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Bringing in Akliouche would add quality to the creative engine around Matheus Cunha through the centre without necessarily adding another striker. At £40m-plus, the deal represents genuine value given the competition, as Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham all display interest in the same player. If Manchester United do indeed return to the Champions League, they carry a compelling argument in negotiations; without it, this transfer race tips decisively against them.
