Tottenham Hotspur salvaged their season when they defeated Manchester United in the Europa League final last May, rolling out the carpet for Champions League football once more.
Having completed some housework already, finalising a shrewd £30m deal for Mathys Tel and sealing the permanent signing of Kevin Danso after his loan spell, new manager Thomas Frank has turned his attention to external solutions.
While the former Brentford boss would love nothing more than to reunite with Bryan Mbeumo, the Red Devils hold the lead in that race. As such, Spurs have turned their attention to Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo, having made contact with Bournemouth but made it known they have no interest in meeting the £70m asking price; the same is true for other suitors.
Despite an abject Premier League campaign, the Lilywhites have an exciting project indeed, and that's why they might want to turn to a Semenyo alternative who might even prove an upgrade.
Spurs lining up Semenyo alternative
As per L'Equipe, as relayed by GetFootballNewsFrance, Tottenham have received a huge boost in their bid to sign AS Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche, who has been informed he could leave the Ligue 1 club for the right price this summer.
That price is marked at €60m (£51m), so he wouldn't come cheap. However, the 23-year-old ace is one of the most exciting talents in France and is also attracting interest from Nottingham Forest alongside Spurs, who are both chasing a deal for the starlet.
The Moroccan has yet to be the centre of an official bid, but if Bournemouth remain stubborn on their valuation of Semenyo, that could change very soon.
What Maghnes Akliouche would bring to Spurs
Akliouche has made headway at Monaco over the last few years, graduating from the academy to become one of the most influential members of the first team.
He's just come off the back of his most productive campaign, and having demonstrated such interesting year-by-year growth, might just be the perfect option to add to a developing Tottenham side showing itself to be a hothouse for young stars.
Indeed, Akliouche ranked among the top 14% of attacking midfielders and wingers last season for assists, the top 11% for progressive passes, and the top 16% for tackles per 90, as per FBref, illustrating both his creative flair and a tenacious approach to his football.
Typically playing off the right flank, Akliouche operates in a similar area to Semenyo, albeit he plays a different role. FBref have actually likened his style of play to that of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the legendary Heung-min Son.
He notched 15 goal contributions in Ligue 1 last season, averaging 4.5 successful duels per game. He also created 15 big chances, as per Sofascore.
No question, Semenyo's the real deal, but is the 25-year-old worth £70m? He finished the 2024/25 campaign with 13 goals and seven assists across 42 matches in all competitions, very impressive for the Cherries, but perhaps not worth such a large sum.
Not when there's a "magician" in Akliouche potentially available, demonstrating incredible playmaking potential, with his "wand of a left foot" singled out for praise by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Semenyo is an energetic and versatile forward himself, and he did average a greater amount of successful duels than Akliouche last term (6.1 per Premier League match), but Tottenham could do with some more creative ingenuity on the flanks to enhance Frank's system, and they already have a goalscoring specialist on the right in Brennan Johnson.
Moreover, the Morocco star has converted 12 big chances in the French top flight across the past two years, only missing 13 big chances, which speaks of a clinical instinct that Frank will be sure to tweak and develop on the training pitch.
While Semenyo would be a fantastic buy for the Londoners, Akliouche has a higher ceiling and would come at a cheaper fee.