Nabil Alioui’s (24) offensive drive has carried the Le Havre AC attack through the first half of the season, as the left-winger is on his way to beating his record goal tally of six from last season.
The Franco-Moroccan started his career off at amateur club Sporting Club de Toulon before quickly signing for the AS Monaco academy in 2013, then aged 14. However, he never made an appearance for the ASM first team but still had the chance to develop in one of the best academies in France.
During the 16/17 season, which saw Monaco become champions of Ligue 1 and go all the way to the semi-finals of the Champions League, Nabil admitted that watching from the sidelines had fueled his motivation to succeed as a footballer: “It makes you dream! I think that every player that was at the academy with me at the time thought: ‘That could be me.” After a loan to satellite club Cercle Brugge during the 2018/19 season, Alioui was on the lookout for a new opportunity where he could finally find first-team football, which arrived in the form of Le Havre signing the player in 2020.
Alioui makes step up to Ligue 1
He joined an ambitious Le HAC side which had been pushing for promotion to Ligue 1, and immediately became an important player, getting five goal contributions in 24 games during his first season there. Providing consistent offensive output through goals, assists and chance creation, Alioui continued to work, as did his team, towards an eventual promotion, which finally came at the end of his third season at the club.
Now in Ligue 1, the 24-year-old has continued to be an essential piece for Luka Elsner’s side, proving invaluable in a team whose greatest strength comes from its defensive solidity. Indeed, while Le Havre is the seventh-best defence in the league, it is tied as the third-worst attack, often lacking numbers in offensive projection to pose difficulties to their opposition. Therefore, they have often relied on Alioui’s prowesses to get them over the line, as with his decisive double to come back with a valuable point from Rennes, or with his goal against Lorient back in September which had sealed the win for his team.
The winger also remains an important outlet in maintaining possession, often scrapping with defenders in order to get a foot on loose balls, making him one of the most structurally important players in the team.
