Akliouche: The priority now is to integrate into the team and deliver good performances on the pitch

Paris Saint-Germain player Akliouche gave an interview in which he discussed adapting after joining the team, communicating with the head coach, and facing his former club Monaco again.

On joining Paris

Of course, this is the result of a collective effort. I also want to thank the president, Luis Campos, and the head coach for their trust in me. Right now, the only thing I need to do is integrate well into the team, continue improving, and deliver good performances on the pitch.

For several months, we have kept hearing your name linked with Paris Saint-Germain. Can you tell us when this actually started? When did the club become interested in you, and when did both sides truly begin contact and negotiations?

Of course, my agent and the club had some communication, but those things are already in the past. I am now a Paris Saint-Germain player, and the goal is to win matches.

Compared with before, what changes have there been in the demands from the head coach? Also, after coming to Paris Saint-Germain and joining this new team, how do you feel now?

I feel very good, and I feel better and better. The coach asks me to maintain this flexibility while also being able to adapt to different situations. I have only just arrived here, so I will learn little by little.

What exactly did you discuss with the head coach? Did he want you to play the way you did at Monaco, or did he hope you would try different positions from before?

No, it is simply about playing with my own style, adapting to this team, and also being myself. It is that simple.

Tomorrow's match will be special for you because you are about to face Monaco. Can you talk about what such a match means to you? Also, what memories do you have from your time at Monaco?

Of course it will be special. That was my club, and Monaco was also the club that developed me. As for what I took from that experience, they are all very beautiful memories. That place carried my youth, from when I was 14 or 15 years old until I was 23. It was a very wonderful period of my life, and all the memories I have left are positive ones. I am happy to see Monaco again tomorrow.

Your youth is also connected with the Île-de-France region, Paris, and INF Clairefontaine. Before joining Monaco, you grew up there, and now you have arrived at Paris Saint-Germain. For someone who grew up in the Île-de-France region, what does it mean to now play for Paris Saint-Germain, the biggest club in the region?

For example, my time at INF Clairefontaine was very important to me. Whether it was my growth as a young person or shaping who I am as a person, it was a very important experience in my life. Being able to join Paris Saint-Germain now is a source of pride for me, it is as simple as that.

People say that you only wanted to join Paris Saint-Germain at that time. Was your goal to come here no matter what?

Yes, that is true. When I heard about Paris Saint-Germain, I wanted to come here. Now I am here, and I feel very proud and very happy.

For you personally, and also from the team's perspective, what would count as a successful season?

We will see when the time comes. At this stage, for me, the priority is to integrate into the team and deliver good performances on the pitch. Then it is about adapting to all the requirements the coach has for me and becoming a good part of this group. For me, everything starts from these things.

After moving here from Monaco, what has been the biggest change for you?

Many things have changed, really a lot. I spent almost ten years at Monaco, nine years to be exact. So for me, everything is new. But honestly, everything is going well at the moment. I have adapted quite well, and I am happy.

At the moment you mainly play on the right side. Have you thought about trying other positions in the future?

Anywhere is fine. Indeed, I feel very comfortable playing on the right side, and the same applies in the middle. In attack, I can play in any position, so I can adapt in that regard.