Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi signs for PSG

Published on : 07/06/2021 – 21:08

Achraf Hakimi, promising side or right winger (22), trained at Real Madrid, was crowned Italian champion in May with Inter before joining, Tuesday, July 6, PSG, which strikes a nice blow on the market transfers pending the possible recruitments of defender Sergio Ramos or goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Officially a PSG player

Arrived Monday afternoon, he had started his medical examination immediately and completed it on Tuesday morning. It is a huge blow for the club which manages to seize one of the most coveted players of the summer transfer window. Hakimi has exploded at the highest level in recent seasons at Borussia Dortmund and then at Inter Milan, where he was crowned Italian champion in May, shining with his qualities as a center and a counter-attacker.

“The 22-year-old Moroccan right-back, who also has Spanish nationality, has signed a five-year contract and is linked with the club until June 30, 2026,” PSG wrote in a statement.

The Moroccan international (31 caps, 2 goals), flagship transfer last summer to Inter (40 million euros), reinforces the rearguard of the Parisian team where the Italian Alessandro Florenzi n failed to impose itself.

A rising star

Real had recruited him at the age of 16 for their youth teams. At Inter Milan, Hakimi took a few months to find his marks in a less offensive team than Dortmund where he had been loaned by Real Madrid between 2018 and 2020.

But Inter was quickly able to count in turn on his devastating acceleration on the right and his quality of center. He is a formidable counter arrow and has scored 7 goals and offered 8 assists in Serie A.

At 22, Hakimi has everything to become one of the best in Europe at this straight piston position. Despite his young age, he already has a good background in C1 with 20 matches played (including 18 as holder). He notably played in the round of 16 first leg against PSG (2-1, 0-2) with Borussia during the 2019/20 season.

The sale of Ashraf Hakimi mainly responds to the demand of the owner of Inter, the Chinese group Suning, to reduce the lifestyle of the club, hard hit by the coronavirus crisis. This economic resizing (lower payroll and capital gains are the objectives of the summer transfer window) notably led to the departure of coach Antonio Conte, replaced on the bench by Simone Inzaghi.

A transfer estimated at around 60 million euros

According to the Italian press, Inter could obtain some 60 to 70 million euros (including bonus) for the sale of the Hispanic-Moroccan, native of Madrid.

This paid transfer takes place while Paris is also active on several files of players at the end of the contract. After the recruitment of Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, PSG seem interested in the experienced Spanish defender Sergio Ramos, free since his departure from Real Madrid, as well as the goalkeeper of the Italian selection Gianluigi Donnarumma.

If it materializes, this impressive recruitment could give arguments to the club to try to retain its superstar Kylian Mbappé, who has still not extended his contract ending in 2022 and seems to want to obtain guarantees concerning the competitiveness of the Parisian workforce.

“The signing of a player (from Hakimi) shows the level of our ambitions – we continue to build something special,” Paris President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi said, quoted in the club’s statement.