Chelsea may be forced to part with key player to sign Achraf Hakimi

Achraf Hakimi is Chelsea’s top summer transfer target, but the Blues may be required to part with more than money to sign the world-class fullback. 

Chelsea understand that a large amount of cash will be required to pry Achraf Hakimi away from Inter Milan this summer. Unfortunately for the Blues, the Serie A giants don’t seem inclined to sanction the move without receiving a Chelsea player in return.

The object of Inter’s affection is reportedly fullback Marcos Alonso. According to Ekrem Konur, The Italian champs want £50 million plus Alonso to get a deal done this summer. Inter need to offload players to balance their books, but are understandably hesitant to let Hakimi go without receiving a readymade replacement n the deal.

Chelsea are interested in Hakimi because he’s a perfect fit to occupy the starting right wing back role in Thomas Tuchel’s preferred system. Hakimi may not be a classic defender, but his ability to carry the ball forward with exceptional pace makes him a valuable commodity at wing-back. Adding Hakimi to the mix would give Chelsea a much greater ability to transition the ball forward from the back line next season.

Inter see selling Hakimi as the best single option to alleviate their financial difficulties. Their hope is that moving him to a rich club like Chelsea can save them from being forced to offload a significant number of key players this summer. Getting £50 million for Hakimi won’t completely solve Inter’s financial crisis, but it would go a long way towards achieving that goal.

But will Chelsea part with Marcos Alonso?

Alonso is a useful swiss army knife for Chelsea at the back, but this summer is the right time to part with him. His value will only decline as he starts to lose even more pace due to age. Selling him at the age of 30 may represent Chelsea’s last real chance to receive solid value for the Spanish veteran.

Inter’s original asking price for Hakimi was somewhere in the neighborhood of £70 million. Chelsea may not have been willing to pay quite that much for the young Moroccan, but Inter weren’t going to budge much from their opening asking price. At the very least, Chelsea would be receiving somewhere around £15 million of “credit” for including Alonso in the reported deal.

That’s a sacrifice Chelsea should be willing to make. Alonso’s been a quality member of the squad for several years, but his best football is clearly behind him. The Blues shouldn’t let him stand in the way of bringing Hakimi to Stamford Bridge.