It has certainly been an active summer transfer window so far for Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side, who came third in the Premier League last term, look vastly different to 2024/25. Outgoings have included Jack Grealish to Everton and Kevin De Bruyne signing for Napoli upon the expiration of his contract.
With those departures, there have been some new signings too. One of their marquee additions this summer has been to sign Lyon and French attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki. He cost the Citizens £30m, and is one of the players purchased to help revitalise their attack.
Rayan Cherki
However, it seems like City will not stop there when it comes to signing a new attacker. They have recently been linked to another exciting young forward.
City’s new attacking target
City have been on the hunt for a new attacker over the past few days. One of the names who has cropped up is Real Madrid and Brazil star Rodrygo, with a £85m deal quoted.
At this stage, it is unclear if that will go through, and City may have identified an alternative.
According to a recent report from Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, City have placed AS Monaco and France under-21 international Maghnes Akliouche ‘to their shortlist’ ahead of a potential move this summer.
AS Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche
He is seen as a cheaper alternative to Rodrygo, with Monaco reportedly asking for £60m earlier in the window. This is an open race, with City set to go head-to-head for his signature with German side Bayer Leverkusen, who view him as their ‘dream target’ this summer.
Why Akliouche would be a good signing
At 23 years of age, Akliouche is becoming a key player for Monaco. Having broken through their academy, he has now firmly established himself as a crucial part of their squad on his favoured right wing, where he shone last term.
maghnes-akliouche-monaco
In the 2024/25 campaign, the Frenchman played 43 times for Monaco across all competitions. He managed to find the back of the net on seven occasions and provided an impressive 12 assists.
It was the French top flight where Akliouche really stood out. Monaco’s number 11 registered 15 goals and assists in 32 Ligue 1 matches. The best of the bunch was surely this sublime overhead kick against Stade Rennais at the start of the calendar year.
This deal certainly has shades of the move to bring Cherki to East Manchester this summer, and Akliouche could be the second coming of his fellow French star.
Although the former Lyon forward is only a few games into his City career, he has already made a big impression.
Cherki
He played four times for the Citizens in the recent Club World Cup, where he scored one goal and assisted another.
On top of that, he made 44 appearances for boyhood side Lyon last term, where he scored 12 goals and set up a further 20.
Indeed, both players have been spoken highly of in the past. Football scout Antonio Mango described Akliouche as a “technically beautiful” footballer, with former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf praising Cherki for being “one of the best players already on earth” when it comes to his skilful nature.
On top of that, the stats from last term back up just how close these two players are. For example, the Moncao star averaged 0.71 goal-creating actions and 4.76 progressive carries per 90 minutes. In comparison, City’s new number 29 averaged 0.88 goal-creating actions and 4.67 progressive carries each game.
Akliouche vs Cherki - key stats compared
Stat (per 90)
Passes into final third
Passes into penalty area
Goal-creating actions
Take-ons completed
Progressive carries
Stats from FBref
It is easy to see why Akliouche could be considered the second coming of Cherki. Both are left-footed, right-sided players who thrive with the ball at their feet and bring great skill to the pitch.
akliouche
For a fee of £60m, this could be a perfect Rodrygo alternative for City and an excellent addition to their squad to improve their technical levels.