Former Liverpool defender Djimi Traore raved about Monaco star Magnes Akliouche on The Pitch Prospect Breakfast on Thursday morning.
Akliouche has been a revelation for the French giants this season, celebrating his 24th birthday with a goal in the Champions League playoff second leg against PSG on Wednesday.
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While Sebastien Pocognoli’s side crashed out of the competition 5-4 on aggregate, a result that earned the defending champions a place in the round of 16, the France international has caught the attention of a number of batsmen following his assist last week and goal in midweek.
Tottenham were said to be interested in Akliouche in the summer and again in the January transfer window, but decided against making a move for the creative star.
And Traore, who is now manager of the Monegasque academy team, has revealed he is fielding calls from heavyweights inquiring about the club’s academy product.
The main mon
“He’s a fantastic player, you know,” Traore said on The Pitch Prospect Breakfast with Alan Brazil and Gabby Agbonlahor.
“Some people call me about him, you know, even last year, you know, from the top club. And I always recommend the club to select him because he’s a top talent. He’s only 24 years old.”
“And he hasn’t reached the ceiling yet. So he’s very good on the ball, very technical. He can create chances, he can score goals. He has good pace.”
“What we need from him now, because he is a young player, is to be more consistent. But when you play in the team that keeps the ball better and stays in position better, you see all his best qualities.”
Akliouche isn’t the only promising star to break into Monaco’s first team recently.
Eliesse Ben Seghir, Chrislain Matsima and Soungoutou Magassa all played for the senior team before moving to Bayer Leverkusen, Augsburg and West Ham.
Monaco’s famous academy
The academy also produced players such as Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet and current Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe.
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Traore then discussed the club’s youth system with Brazil and Agbonlahor, adding: “Yes, we have a very, very good way, you know, just like the way we recruit players and the way we develop players.”
“That’s one of the reasons I’m in Monaco. In my second year there I can tell you I’ve coached some very, very talented players.”
“But now it’s difficult for them to be patient because most of them want to play in the third team very, very early.”
And they don’t understand that it happens step by step.
“The hardest thing for me as coach of the B team is keeping the boys motivated and making sure they work every day to progress in the first team.”
“Because at the end of the day, when you get through to the first team, you’ve been through it before, you want to play straight away. Sometimes you need patience.”
“And so some of them, like the younger generation, are not very patient. And some of them, you know, make the wrong choice.”
Monaco were unlucky in both Champions League games against PSG, being reduced to 10 men at a crucial point at the Stade Louis II and Parc des Princes, losing Aleksandr Golovin and Mamadou Coulibaly respectively.
They will be hoping they can bounce back quickly from their European disappointment and extend their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to six games with a third win in a row when they face Angers this weekend.