Chelsea confident of signing 22-year-old star after launching £56m bid

Chelsea are confident of winning the race to sign Achraf Hakimi this summer after matching Paris Saint-Germain’s £56.1m bid for the Inter Milan full-back, according to various reports.

Thomas Tuchel lead the Blues to Champions League glory with victory over Manchester City last month but the German coach is still expected to be busy in the transfer market further strengthening his squad this summer.

Chelsea have been linked with big name strikers such as Harry Kane and Erling Haaland in recent weeks but a new attacking full-back also appears to be on the agenda and Hakimi has emerged as a prime target.

Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, via the Daily Mail, claims that Chelsea have now matched Paris Saint-Germain’s opening £56.1m [€60m] bid – which falls some way short of Inter’s £70m asking price.

However, Di Marzio suggests that Chelsea are willing to offer the Serie A champions both Emerson Palmieri and Andreas Christensen as part of any deal in order to get an agreement found this summer.

Sky Sports Italia says Inter favour Chelsea’s proposal as they are interested in signing Palmieri and Christensen and the Daily Star claims that sources close to the London club say they’re confident of winning the race to sign Hakimi.

The Moroccan international joined Inter Milan from Real Madrid in a permanent deal worth £40m last summer after a successful initial loan spell and was virtually ever-present in their title-winning campaign.

Hakimi starred in an attacking right wing-back role having scored 7 goals and setting up a further 11 for his team mates in his 37 Serie A appearances making him one of the most dangerous full-backs in Europe.

However, Inter are in financial trouble and need to sell before new boss Simone Inzaghi can reshape his squad so they could be ready to cash-in on Hakimi in order to raise significant transfer funds.

If Chelsea can include Palmieri in any deal then Inter would have a ready-made replacement and plenty of money left over to strengthen other areas of the squad so it could be a win-win for all parties.

Hakimi would fit in perfectly on the right flank in Tuchel’s system but his arrival would cast doubt over Reece James’ role in the first team. The England international established himself at right wing-back last season so it’s something of a surprise to hear that Chelsea are in the market for a similar player in Hakimi.

James did impress on the right side of a back three during the closing games of last season so perhaps Tuchel plans to deploy the 21-year-old in defence with Hakimi outside him in the wing-back position.