Paris Saint-Germain are close to averting strong interest from Chelsea to strike a deal for Inter right-back Achraf Hakimi.
Inter are reluctantly willing to sell Hakimi this summer to help raise much-needed money, and the Serie A champions hope the £ 65m they raise from selling Hakimi will mean they do not have to sell other stars such as Lautaro. Martinez or Romelu Lukaku.
In recent weeks, there has been a straight shootout between PSG and Chelsea for Hakimi’s signature. Both sides have been reluctant to meet Inter’s asking price, with PSG offering £ 55m and Chelsea sitting close to £ 50m, but the Windy also offered Marcos Alonso in exchange, hoping it would move them to the queue.
There was some optimism that this was Chelsea’s deal to lose, but several Italian stores now see PSG as the leading challengers as Inter have made it clear that they only want money in exchange for Hakimi, not players.
Gianluca Di Marzio believes that PSG are close to making a deal as they are expected to increase their offer in the next few days. The French side is now open to paying as much as £ 65 million and has been in constant contact with Hakimi’s representatives on personal terms.
Hakimi is believed to prefer moving to PSG / Nicolò Campo / Getty Images
The same message is passed on from Fabrizio Romano, who says that Chelsea have not yet made any formal cash offers and have only discussed the idea of using players in exchange. Emerson was an early candidate but most of the recent conversation has revolved around Alonso.
Inter are keen on Alonso, and in an ideal world they would probably accept Chelsea’s bid, but the problem is that they need £ 65 million to balance their books before the new season begins. Once they have done so, they are then expected to continue with Alonso, who will cost them more than the £ 5m difference between Chelsea and PSG’s bid. They are worse off financially, but they do not have much choice.
Chelsea could obviously remove Alonso from the offer and raise their bid, but it would rely on Inter to make a deal for the Spaniard along the line, and Chelsea have notoriously struggled to persuade Italian sides to sign their players earlier.
The door is still open for Chelsea and Angelo Mangiante says that the Blues are as close to getting a deal as PSG, but the French side’s willingness to pay full price is believed to have moved them forward in the queue.
Chelsea hope to send Alonso to Inter / Marc Atkins / Getty Images
If Chelsea miss Hakimi, they are expected to turn to Wolves winger Adama Traore, who Thomas Tuchel sees as an ideal candidate to rotate with Reece James as a right-back, while offering a little extra dynamism in the attack.
Gladbach winger Jonas Hofmann is another player on Chelsea’s radar, but expects the Blues to continue to press against Hakimi while the Morocco international is still available.
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