French football expert Jonathan Johnson has warned Manchester City about the prospect of sealing the transfer of Paris Saint-Germain right-back Achraf Hakimi.
Writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Johnson admitted that Hakimi’s PSG future is not entirely certain this summer, with the Ligue 1 giants not necessarily actively seeking to sell the Morocco international, though they could be open to letting him go for the right price.
While Johnson says he can see why Man City might be interested in a player of Hakimi’s profile, he did also have some words of warning for Pep Guardiola and co.
Discussing the recent links between City and Hakimi, the journalist pointed out that the 24-year-old has not had the best of seasons with PSG, with issues both on and off the pitch, while there could also be question-marks about his suitability for Guardiola’s demanding tactics in defence.
“Achraf Hakimi is a name coming up again, this time being linked with Manchester City. As I said recently, he’s not someone PSG are actively looking to sell, but there could be the potential for a deal to be done at the right price,” Johnson said.
“My understanding is that this position is unchanged, and that they could be willing to cash in on Hakimi if it would help them to land on of their other major targets. They’re not too light of other options for that role with Nordi Mukiele and Warren Zaire-Emery able to fill in there as well.
“In terms of how he might fit in at Man City, there’s an obvious role for him in that team if Kyle Walker ends up leaving, but I’m not totally convinced he has the defensive discipline that Pep Guardiola might want from him. He might have to undergo quite a bit of work on that side of his game if he were to join City, but equally it’s not surprising that they like someone of his profile and playing style.
“Still, whatever happens with him this summer there’s no doubt he’s stagnated a bit at PSG and so it will be interesting to see if there’s a chance for him to revive his career under Luis Enrique. He’s had a difficult last year or so, both on and off the pitch, with the allegations being made against him still needing to be taken into consideration by any club potentially making a move for him.
“Hakimi needs to be fully focused on his game in order to be at his best, so a fresh start under a new coach at PSG could be a good way for him to still have an important role to play at the Parc des Princes, especially while Kylian Mbappe is still at the club – they have a very good relationship, despite the players’ mothers taking pot shots at each other in the media recently!
“I can see the logic in City looking at him, but I could also see a move back to Spain being good for him, perhaps even back to his former club Real Madrid, assuming he does move on from PSG at some point in the future.”
It would be intriguing to see a talent like Hakimi in the Premier League, but perhaps a more realistic expectation is that he’ll head back to La Liga later in his career.