'Why not?' - Tottenham transfer target 'flattered' by interest and plays up future move ahead of Champions League showdown with Thomas Frank's side

Tottenham  were under immense pressure towards the end of the summer transfer window after missing out on key targets Morgan Gibbs-White and Eze. While their pursuit of Gibbs-White ended earlier in the summer after Nottingham Forest blocked the midfielder's transfer, Spurs saw their move for Crystal Palace's Eze hijacked at the last moment as their arch-rivals Arsenal secured the England international's signature.

With James Maddison already out for the majority of the season with an ACL rupture, Spurs were growing impatient over signing a new creative midfielder. That is when they shifted their focus to AS Monaco starlet Akliouche, although they ended up signing Dutch star Simons from RB Leipzig instead.

Earlier in the window, Manchester City and Bayer Leverkusen had also shown interest in the talented attacker as both Pep Guardiola and Erik ten Hag were ready to battle it out in the transfer market. The youngster's stock rose after a breakout campaign in the 2024-25 season, in which he scored seven goals and registered 12 assists across all competitions for the French giants. 

Ahead of Monaco's Champions League clash against Tottenham, Akliouche addressed the media where he spoke about Spurs' interest in him, while claiming he was flattered to know about the English side's pursuit. 

The 23-year-old said: "I thought it was very flattering to have these kinds of stories and links but I'm a Monaco player and I'm playing against Spurs tomorrow, so I will give my best. In terms of playing in the Premier League, why not? We will see in the future but tomorrow I will give my all."

TBR Football reported last month that Spurs had sent scouts to watch Monaco in action and were interested in the progress of Akliouche specifically, along with Vanderson and Lamine Camara. Tottenham boss Frank continues to maintain an interest in the versatile young ace, who can play on either flank, in the 10 or up front. The report further added that while Akliouche would be a headline signing, the north London club are also monitoring Vanderson as potential full-back depth, with Pedro Porro, Djed Spence and Destiny Udogie currently the specialist full-backs in the squad; Archie Gray has also covered at right-back but is naturally a midfielder. Camara, meanwhile, operates primarily as a midfielder.

In the 2025-26 campaign, Akliouche has appeared in nine matches for Monaco across all competitions, including seven in Ligue 1 where he has scored twice and provided one assist thus far. His impressive start to the new season earned him his maiden call-up to the France national team during the September international window.

Former England and Tottenham defender Eric Dier was poised for a reunion with the Premier League in the Champions League fixture on Wednesday, however, the experienced centre-back picked up a hamstring injury during their previous European clash against Manchester City earlier this month. 

Speaking about Dier's condition, new Monaco boss Sebastien Pocognoli said: "Actually it was more general disappointment to be injured because I felt that he really wanted to start the journey with me on the weekend. He was really upset with the injury. For sure, he misses the game against Tottenham and it can be deeply disappointing for him, but we didn’t discuss about this [whether he was down about missing Tottenham, specifically]."