Journalist James Olley has claimed that Achraf Hakimi is Manchester City’s number one replacement for Kyle Walker.
Last month, it was reported that the Manchester club have an interest in the Paris Saint-Germain right-back.
With Walker verbally agreeing to join Bayern Munich this summer, one journalist has shared some details on City’s apparent interest in the Moroccan.
Journalist discusses Hakimi interest
Speaking in a recent livestream on the ESPN FC YouTube channel, Olley had this to say when asked about City’s interest in Hakimi and if he could be a potential replacement for Walker.
He said: “He’s a player they like. I think there are a few hurdles to overcome in terms of getting a deal over the line but Manchester City will need to bring in another full-back if Walker leaves and he’s very much top of their list.”
The 24-year-old joined PSG back in 2021 summer transfer window from Inter Milan on a five-year deal worth an overall fee of £60m.
Since then, the defender has made 80 appearances for the French club across all competitions, scoring nine goals and delivering 12 assists in the process.
The previous Ligue 1 campaign saw Hakimi make more crosses into the penalty area (13) than any other player at PSG, as well as having a higher combined total of tackles and interceptions (70) than any other defender at the club.
This highlights his effectiveness in and out of possession in an attacking and defensive sense.
He also ended the season with more progressive carries (85) than Neymar (69), which shows how forward-thinking and positive he is with the ball.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see why City have an apparent interest in the player.
Moving forward, if Walker does end up leaving the Manchester club in this window, we feel that the treble winners should make an approach to PSG to see if they’d be willing to negotiate a deal that could see Hakimi join Pep Guardiola’s side.
