"Let me clarify..." - Fabrizio Romano speaks out on Liverpool's interest in Maghnes Akliouche | OneFootball

Liverpool may have been linked with Maghnes Akliouche but Fabrizio Romano insists this speculation was never anything genuinely concrete.

Akliouche is now edging closer to leaving Monaco for a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, with Romano reporting on a breakthrough in negotiations over that deal.

The talented 24-year-old has impressed in Ligue 1 in recent times, and it seems he’s set to stay in the French top flight despite some talk of moving to the Premier League.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano made it clear that he was never convinced by the Liverpool links with Akliouche, despite what others were reporting at various points.

Fabrizio Romano plays down Maghnes Akliouche Liverpool transfer links

“We can consider Maghnes Akliouche as a new Paris Saint-Germain player. On this channel, we didn’t fall for the story and we saw many reporting in England.

“Some people should explain what happened, but many people said in England that Liverpool were negotiating for Maghnes Akliouche very clear that he wanted to go to Paris Saint-Germain. So Liverpool were never involved in this story. Not at all.

“So let me clarify one thing: Liverpool have never been mentioned for Maghnes, and Maghnes is going to be a Paris Saint-Germain player. 50 million euros.”

Maghnes Akliouche could’ve been a good signing for Liverpool

Akliouche finished last season with a total of seven goals and nine assists for Monaco in Ligue 1 and the Champions League, so it’s clear he had the potential to be a fine signing for Liverpool.

It’s unclear quite where this speculation came from, though, as Romano seems absolutely convinced that the Reds were never in the race for the Frenchman’s signature.

PSG can be happy with this signing, however, as they once again strengthen with a technically gifted young attacking player to help them build on their recent success.

Luis Enrique’s side have won the last two Champions League finals in a row and have done so whilst playing some fantastic football, and a player like Akliouche looks an ideal fit to help them continue with this project.

Liverpool will need to look elsewhere for attacking players, however, with Andoni Iraola inheriting a squad that’s just lost Mohamed Salah, while the club also arguably never adequately replaced Luis Diaz when he left to join Bayern Munich last summer.