Chelsea ‘slightly outperforming’ PSG in Achraf Hakimi race — report

Achraf Hakimi’s expected transfer away from Inter Milan hasn’t gotten any closer to becoming reality in the past few days, and if anything, it’s gotten more convoluted, with Inter so far rejecting all received bids. PSG looked to be the clear frontrunners, but now it’s Chelsea who have supposedly “slightly outperformed” the competition in this race.

That’s according to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who explain that while PSG have refrained from upping their offer, Chelsea are more open to making up the €20m difference via bonuses, add-ons, or add-ins (though Inter are interested in including any players from Chelsea in the deal, wanting straight cash only).

Inter are clearly trying to play the two teams off of each other, trying to generate a bidding war between them, though it sounds like neither Chelsea nor PSG are really keen to play such silly games. With the Nerazzurri reportedly needing to raise funds before the end of the month to balance the books for the 2019-20 fiscal year, their time for such shenanigans is slowly running out. Calling their bluff should give the advantage to the buyers in this case. If we truly want Hakimi, that could be good news for us.

One player who could suffer from Hakimi’s arrival is Chelsea Academy Player of the Year, Valentino Livramento, who was said to be mulling over his future, with AC Milan monitoring his situation. According to Goal and the Guardian, Aston Villa are the latest club looking at the highly rated 18-year-old, who may leave this summer because of a lack of opportunities.