Liverpool have made an initial approach to Monaco for winger Maghnes Akliouche.
Sky Sports News understands the club have checked on the potential availability of the 24-year-old France international.
Akliouche is a prime target for Paris Saint-Germain, who have made several offers for him – none of which have been acceptable to Monaco so far.
The most recent offer from the Ligue 1 champions is believed to be in the region of £34m (€40m).
Akliouche was on the bench for France’s 6-4 defeat to England in the World Cup third-place play-off.
The 24-year-old, who is capable of playing on the right wing or as an attacking midfielder, made 31 appearances in Ligue 1 last season, scoring six goals and adding six assists.
Monaco midfielder Maghnes Akliouche in action for France
Iraola: We need another winger
Liverpool have already secured the £34.5m signing of Victor Munoz from Osasuna but speaking in a press conference on Tuesday ahead of facing Sunderland in a pre-season friendly in the USA on Saturday, new boss Andoni Iraola admitted further reinforcements were needed.
“We definitely need to sign a winger,” he said, as the club look to bolster their options out wide following Mohamed Salah’s exit at the end of last season.
Sky Sports News had reported Liverpool were interested in RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande but RB Leipzig would only be open to selling the Ivory Coast international for an estimated £112m. The Reds indicated they were willing to pay £86m.
Other options, such as Akliouche, are now being explored. When asked how many signings the club would need ahead of his first campaign in charge, he added: “No, I think it’s difficult to say a number when the market is open.
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Take a look at the best bits from Andoni Iraola’s first Liverpool press conference.
“You have to always be open to new options to improve the squad.
“There are obvious situations that we know where we need to sign players. A winger, for example – we definitely need to sign a winger.
“But there are other situations that we will have to analyse what the market gives you, what’s the cost, how we also see the players we have.
“We have some tricky positions where we have injured players that we trust but is still not the ideal situation. So, it will depend on a lot of things.”
