Manchester United and Manchester City appear to have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche.
The 23-year-old worked his way through the youth ranks at Monaco before making his senior debut in 2021, and he has since developed into an important first-team player for the Ligue 1 club.
Akliouche has contributed with 16 goals and 17 assists in 95 appearance for Monaco across all competitions, recording seven goals and a team-high 12 assists in 42 games so far this season.
The 2024 Olympic silver medallist with France has subsequently caught the eye of a number of top European clubs including Premier League rivals Man United and Man City.
Monaco head coach Adi Hutter recently conceded the possibility of losing Akliouche, telling reporters: "I am encouraged to see where he can go. For me, we don't know what happens. If we lose him in the summer, we lose him in the summer.
"This is also the club's strategy to bring in young talents from its own academy to the first team and then at one point to sell them - this is the club's plan and it is a good one! This is the process as a coach. I want to follow [Akliouche]. This is the history of the club and I like it!"
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Akliouche hoping to stay at Monaco despite PL interest
Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro has acknowledged that "clubs are interested" in Akliouche, but he has insisted that interested suitors may find it challenging to prise him away from the French side.
Speaking to Telefoot earlier this year, Scuro said: "It is logical that clubs are interested in him. He is a Monaco player and it won't be easy to take him out of here."
Akliouche has now responded to speculation over his future, and to the delight of Monaco supporters, the winger has expressed his desire to remain at Stade Louis II.
"I am under contract at Monaco and I hope that I will be here next season, why not?," said Akliouche as quoted by Get French Football News.
Monaco are under no pressure to part ways with their No.11, who is believed to be valued at around £70m (£59m) and extended his contract in July last year until the summer of 2028.
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What next for Man United and Man City?
Man United and Man City are therefore set to turn their attention to other transfer targets ahead of what is expected to by a busy summer for both clubs as they endeavour to make vast improvements on a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.
Ruben Amorim will oversee his first summer transfer window as Red Devils boss and is believed to be prioritising attacking reinforcements, with at least one new centre-forward and advanced midfielder and at least one wing-back thought to be high on his list of targets.
Man United have recently been linked with Athletic Bilbao's Oihan Sancet, while they have also been credited with an interest in the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matheus Cunha, Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres, Ipswich Town's Liam Delap and Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo.
Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, is set to oversee a major squad rebuild at Man City and the addition of at least one new midfielder is high on the agenda, as Kevin De Bruyne will be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz is believed to be the Citizens' top target, while Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White and AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders have also been tipped to move to the Etihad Stadium.
Oliver Thomas
