Chelsea target Achraf Hakimi would prefer to seal a move to French giants Paris Saint-Germain this summer, according to reports in France.
The Inter Milan ace, who has proven himself as one of the best right wing-backs in European football in recent years, has been the subject of big-money bids from both clubs in the past week or so.
After PSG, who are managed by by former Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino, made their move with an opening offer of £56.1million, the Blues, who will discover their Premier League fixture list for the 2021/22 campaign tomorrow, decided to the match the bid, although the offer was not thought to be close enough to Inter’s valuation.
It is believed that the Serie A title holders are holding out for somewhere around £66million to consider the idea of selling the Moroccan star.
However, according to a report by French journalist and Ligue 1 expert Romain Collet-Gaudin, as cited by the Express, Hakimi’s ‘preference’ is to join PSG and work alongside Pochettino, in turn snubbing a move to Stamford Bridge.
Like Chelsea, PSG are keen to add a new right-sided defender to their armoury this summer, with the club having been heavily linked with Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin in recent weeks and months.
However, Hakimi is believed to be Pochettino’s top target, as the Argentine looks to add a sense of attacking flair to the full-back positions.
Although Hakimi would favour a move to Paris over a switch to London, Chelsea are believed to remain heavily interested in the former Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund ace, who only sealed a move to the San Siro last summer.
Thomas Tuchel, the Blues boss, is a big admirer of Hakimi’s and would like to add him to what is an already extremely talented squad in west London. But with the Blues tipped to splash the cash this summer, the prospect of them increasing their offer in an attempt to lure him to the Premier League should not be ruled out.
But if Hakimi has his heart set on a move to the French capital and does not wish to join Chelsea, Tuchel will be forced to go back to the drawing board and assess alternative options.
Amongst the other right-sided players, who could be considered as options to play at wing-back, that have been linked with moves to Stamford Bridge are Adama Traore of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Borussia Monchengladbach ace Jonas Hofmann.
