Up until last season, Aleksandr Golovin’s career at AS Monaco had been defined by recurrent injuries. The potential shown during the 2018 World Cup, which attracted the interest of Chelsea, looked increasingly unlikely to be realised. However, injury-free for the first time since his arrival in the Principality club, the Russian playmaker has asserted himself as one of the best players in Ligue 1.
Through various injuries, including adductor pain, thigh problems, hamstring injuries, jip injuries, and ankle sprains, Golovin has missed 45 games since joining Les Monégasques in the summer of 2018.
However, those persistent injuries came to a rather sudden end last season. The arrival of now-former Monaco manager Philippe Clement, who in tandem with now-former performance director James Bunce, signalled a change. The duo worked together to resolve the recurring injury problems that had dogged Golovin’s Monaco career.
Bunce told Get French Football News’ Luke Entwistle that 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.
‘Golovin is one of the best players in the league’ – Hütter
That physical growth, now in the absence of Clement and Bunce, has continued this season. “Maybe this year I am in even better shape than last year. I had a good pre-season as well, which has also made me stronger,” said Golovin in December, who added that he had tailored his regime and gym work to focus on areas that have previously been susceptible to injuries.
Both Golovin himself, as well as Monaco’s performance staff deserve credit for the work done, and the rewards have been spectacular. Golovin already has five goals and two assists this season – this is currently the seventh-highest combined figure in Ligue 1. His highest goalscoring total across a single season came in 2022/23 when Golovin scored eight; he looks almost certain to beat that figure this campaign, despite fewer games given Monaco’s absence from European competition.
His form this season has garnered high praise from new Monaco manager Adi Hütter. “He is one of the best players in the league,” said the Austrian.
He added, “Golo’ is exceptional. He really is in top form currently. We need him. He is a fantastic player and I hope that he will continue to be decisive.” Under Hütter, Golovin has become a key figure. Featuring in a dual No.10 role, often alongside the rejuvenated Takumi Minamino, Golovin benefits from the freedom that the system affords him.
Golovin has been more accustomed to playing out on the left in recent months, and whilst he is occupying more central areas under Hütter, he still has a tendency to drift left and occupy full-backs. This, at least in part, explains the success of full-back Caio Henrique earlier in the season before the Brazil international suffered an unfortunate ACL injury.
A difficult integration at Monaco
The title for most dangerous player in Ligue 1 perhaps belongs to Golovin, who has made the most passes into the penalty area this season (40), and the second-most through balls (10). He also ranks fifth in Ligue 1 in shot-creating actions (68). Bar Paris Saint-Germain, Les Monégasques have the best goal-scoring figures this season (33) and Golovin has played a key part in that.
His set-piece delivery is also a considerable asset to Monaco, who are blessed with multiple players with considerable aerial presence in the opposition box.
However, Golovin’s resurgence has passed under the radar. After failing to make the next step in his early 20s, international interest seemed to peter out – the fluctuations thereafter are often ignored, especially when an attacking player passes his 25th birthday.
Bar his injury problems, there were other factors behind Golovin’s lack of success in those early days at Monaco. “For two years, there was an adaptation. It was difficult to move from Russia to here. It took me two years to show my best quality,” said the Russian, who now frequently wears the armband for his national team, despite their expulsion from official competitions.
Golovin’s true value not represented in the market
However, now at the age of 27, he has become a consistent performer for club and country, and whilst he perhaps doesn’t match the age profile desired by certain clubs, he can surely only be overlooked for so long. Golovin recently signed a new contract with Monaco, tying him to the club until 2026. “I am happy here; I have no doubts about that,” reacted Golovin, who was nonetheless reluctant to commit to remaining at the Principality club for the remainder of his career.
Many clubs’ doubts likely revolved around his fragile glass frame, which for years halted Golovin’s professional development. However, with those issues resolved, and with him establishing himself as one of the most potent – and most experienced – attackers in Ligue 1, he arguably, for some clubs at least, represents better value than some of the pépites that the French top-flight export so well and so frequently.
Experience is an undervalued commodity, but Golovin possesses it in spades. During his years in France, he has confronted hardship in his professional life but has recovered from it to reach a new high – and do so during his prime years.
Having reached this level, the level that many thought he could reach when he first broke onto the scene as a tricky playmaker at CSKA Moscow, his task is now to maintain that level. Should he do so going into 2024, heads will certainly start to turn. At 27, Golovin’s best years seemingly lie ahead of him when just two seasons ago, his best years seemed to have been getting smaller in the rear-view mirror.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
