Tottenham decided to cool their interest in AS Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche in the final stages of the January transfer window.
Tottenham Hotspur had a quiet end to the winter transfer window, breaking the hearts of millions of fans who expected a new arrival on deadline day.
Despite an ongoing injury crisis at the club, the N17 chiefs failed to bring in players who could help Thomas Frank get out of the rut that sees Spurs languish in 14th place in the table. The injury crisis has not done any favours to the Danish tactician, either, with the 52-year-old chopping and changing personnel to name a strong starting XI in recent weeks.
Heading into the winter window, Tottenham had made it one of its priorities to reinforce the wide areas of the pitch. By Thomas Frank’s own admission, the club tried to sign Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth. However, Semenyo chose to join Manchester City and haunted Spurs by scoring in the 2-2 draw last weekend.
The Lilywhites also held an interest in AS Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche. They were considering launching a bid for the 23-year-old after missing out on his services last summer. Eventually, Frank’s club decided to cool their interest in the player.
Tottenham will plan to revive their interest in Maghnes Akliouche in the summer
According to a report from TEAMtalk, Tottenham could look to strike a better deal for Maghnes Akliouche in the summer after not yielding to AS Monaco’s valuation of over £50million.
The Lilywhites had done several scouting missions for weeks and months, and even explored both personal terms and financials required to strike an agreement with the Ligue 1 club. However, AS Monaco’s aforementioned valuation led to Spurs taking a backstep and are instead expected to revisit a potential deal for the 23-year-old when the transfer window reopens in June.
One of the highly-rated young talents in French football, Akliouche has been enjoying another fine season with Monaco. The France international has bagged four goals and five assists in 28 appearances so far, and most notably produced a dazzling performance in Monaco’s 0-0 draw with Tottenham at home in the Champions League back in October.
The 23-year-old can operate both as a right-winger and a No.10, and such versatility should help the Tottenham boss to use him as per the tactical demands of the game. However, come summer, interest in Akliouche is expected to grow. The player will only improve, and if he gets a call-up to the World Cup squad, the stock is going to enhance further.
By not signing the Monaco star during the January transfer window, the Hotspur Way chiefs must pray they do not regret their decision down the line.
