Why Akliouche? Monaco man is a pressing monster as well as a creator

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"If you have a player like that who puts in so much defensive effort – not just tracking back but also pushing forward since he is the one who wins back the most balls high up the pitch in Ligue 1 – it means he is an atypical and modern player."Those were the words of Monaco coach Sebastien Pocognoli in March when speaking about Maghnes Akliouche. Image: Maghnes Akliouche has impressive creativity stats but also works without the ball "He is a really good pressing player," Abel Lorincz tells Sky Sports.

"He has amazing technical ability but he also has really high game intelligence," says Lorincz.He puts Akliouche among that elite group of players who do not just learn from their coaches but teach them too. Image: Maghnes Akliouche's heat map and chances created for Monaco in the Champions League "I think what impresses me a lot is that he is really good at taking in information.

He is a really coachable player." Lorincz describes Akliouche as "really creative" and this can often come with a certain looseness. And he was really good at it, to be honest," Lorincz explains.Transfer Centre LIVE!Choose the Sky Sports push notifications you want! 🔔"Even though he is not a particularly big player, he was able to deal with some players who were bigger than him, and that is a testament to his intelligence.