What can Maghnes Akliouche bring to PSG?

AS Monaco academy product Maghnes Akliouche has joined Ligue 1 McDonald's rivals Paris Saint-Germain in a €50m deal. What could the France international bring to the reigning European champions?

Akliouche exceeds expectations at Monaco

Akliouche came through the ranks at Monaco and would go on to make 139 appearances for his formative club. The playmaker wasn't always sold a glistening future, with his slight figure holding him back at youth level. However, he overcame that deficit with hard work. He first burst onto the scene under Philippe Clement and, in a Coupe de France substitute appearance against SC Amiens, immediately showed what he was about. Controlling excellently, he then beat a man, shrugged off another and played for the ball across for what would be his first of 28 assists for Les Monégasques.

In the latter stage of his career at Monaco, Akliouche began to add goals to his game, too, as well as consistency, which last autumn saw him called up by Didier Deschamps for the first time. He has since become a staple in Les Bleus' squads, even if he played a peripheral role at the recent FIFA World Cup in North America.

In spurts, however, he has shown what he was capable of on the biggest stages, notably against PSG in the Champions League, when he ran Luis Enrique's defenders ragged in last season's UCL play-off. The Frenchman scored in the second leg of that encounter, despite Monaco crashing out (5-4). Ultimately, it was an audition to join Ligue 1 McDonald's premier team.

Naturally, this is a step up for Akliouche. Expectations are high. Winning the title is a must, whilst back-to-back wins in the Champions League means that he - and his new teammates - are expected to compete at the summit of European football. The objective is to make it three in a row this year; any title would represent the first of Akliouche's young career.

👋🆕 Maghnes' first session at the PSG Campus! pic.twitter.com/VXeAT6jhUf
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 7, 2026

Exactly what role Akliouche will play will be up to him. He has strong competition in the forward line to contend with. There are four world-class options for three places (Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia). Akliouche will look to get himself in the mix and make an argument to start on the right, where the pathway is a little less blocked as it is on the other wing, where Kvaratskhelia ordinarily starts, at least in the big encounters.

The alternative is that Akliouche plays largely a squad role, as the man who he replaces did. Lee Kang-in left this summer, joining Atletico Madrid, having failed to disrupt the hierarchy. Despite that, he was highly valued and rated by Luis Enrique.

But Akliouche, who will want to prove to Zinédine Zidane that he is capable of at least continuing in the France set-up, if not of playing a larger role, will look to be more than just a bit-part player at the Parc des Princes. His performances at Monaco over the past two seasons suggest he can do that. Technically excellent when drifting off the right, his ability to beat a man has never been in doubt but it is the consistency with which he has done it and the goals and assists that he has added to his game that made him one of the most coveted players in Ligue 1 McDonald's this summer. PSG will now look to make the most of his talents.