PROFILE | Aleksandr Golovin is finally realising his potential under Philippe Clement

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For AS Monaco’s Aleksandr Golovin, 2022 represents the year that he began to realise his undoubted potential. Much was expected of the Russian playmaker, who impressed during the 2018 World Cup in his home country and those performances contributed towards his €30m move to the Principality that summer. However, he has since been dogged by injuries, and therefore prevented from reaching the level that many had expected.

The turning point for Golovin came with the managerial change at Monaco at the turn of the year. Monaco performance director James Bunce told Get French Football News’ Luke Entwistle that Philippe Clement was “the best coach I’ve seen at trying to build those blocks and build them on an individual pathway, because not everyone can do the same training.” Finding the right regime to, as Clement put it, build Golovin’s “motor” and “bodywork” has been the key to getting the best out of the player.

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Clement also revealed that Golovin himself is noting how physically fit he is feeling, especially when recovering from matches. The Belgian coach stated back in April that he was shocked by a statistic that showed that Golovin had only played four 90-minute matches in 16 months at the Principality club. Lacking creativity at times, the Russian playmaker’s return was the perfect remedy to Monaco’s problems.

Whilst he now features out wide rather than in the number 10 position, he is finally finding his rhythm, helped by his upgraded ‘motor and bodywork’ he is playing back-to-back matches for the first time in a long time, and is a consistent source of attacking thrust and creativity. In just 14 Ligue 1 matches this season, he has scored three goals, matching his goal tally from last season, and has registered three assists, one short of last season’s total. His sumptuous curling efforts against Angers and then a week later against Toulouse are indicative of a player whose confidence is returning.

Four years after his arrival in Ligue 1, Golovin is now beginning to look like the player Monaco thought they had bought. Should he continue to stave off the injuries, there is no reason he shouldn’t push on and become a key player in Monaco’s run towards the Champions League places.

Luke Entwistle | GFFN