Why Achraf Hakimi is as good a signing as Neymar, Mbappe for PSG?
With the proposed move of Achraf Hakimi to Paris Saint Germain, we look at where he fits and how can he help improve the Parisians.
Achraf Hakimi to PSG is a ‘Here We Go’ as per Mr Fabrizio Romano and this move signals possibly the end of Parisians search for the rightful heir of Dani Alves. The Moroccan matches the Brazilian in terms of style, finesse, and a feat of becoming one of the most expensive fullbacks in football’s history. How did Achraf bag two big moves in 2 consecutive seasons? Let’s have a look.
Hakimi’s Breakout Season and Time with BVB & Inter
Achraf in his breakthrough season at Real Madrid was behind Nacho and Carvajal, he impressed in his maiden campaign in Spain and was expected to be given some role to develop at Santiago Bernabeu.
Zidane’s departure and Lopetegui’s signing of Alvaro Odriozola complicated things and paved the way for Hakimi to join Borussia Dortmund on loan for 2 years.
Lucien Favre snapped him up to replace Schmelzer or Piszczek with the Moroccan replacing the latter. Though it did not happen, the German club could not afford to meet Real Madrid’s valuation and went to Inter instead after his loan with Dortmund expired.
Hakimi at Dortmund was an explosive wing-back. Right Back, Left Back it just did not matter to him. He was an exceptional athlete on either side of the pitch. Lucien Favre’s first season was full of joy for viewers, his team played a free-flowing football and finished 2 points behind Champions Bayern in the 2nd place. Paco Alcacer was in the form of his life and on the other side of the pitch Achraf had a great season too individually, scoring on his Bundesliga debut and notching up 3 goals, 7 assists and 9 clean sheets in 28 appreances as a first-teamer in his first full campaign. Not bad eh?
Subsequent seasons weren’t below his usual high standards, the 2019-20 season for Dortmund was not too kind but for Hakimi, it was sensational again. 9 goals, 10 assists and 18 clean sheets. A Stellar season with Dortmund and another stepping stone in his career earned him a move to Inter Milan and also his first league title with the Nerazzurri in 2020-21. Scoring important goals along the way. But arguably, Inter’s and Hakimi’s biggest feat was ending Juventus’ dominion over the Serie A.
What does Hakimi bring to PSG and where does he fit
PSG have signed Donnarumma, Wijnaldum and Achraf Hakimi. None excites more than the Moroccan, who has probably been one of the best right-sided Full Backs in Europe in the last couple of seasons and fits like a glove in this PSG team which has been lacking a natural explosive Right Back since Aurier departed for Tottenham.
Pochettino has used 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 as his preferred setup since he joined them mid-season. With early departure rumours put to bed, Pochettino has signed players and solved 3 critical areas his team needed strengthening, possibly 1-2 more signings on the way and his team shall look sorted for this season.
Hakimi has mostly played on the defence's right side and has always made his attack the best form of defence. He has played in different systems and has flourished in all of them.
Dortmund under Favre played a back 4 and Hakimi had the licence to be a source of attack down that side and was delightful in it. Pochettino has mostly used Back 4 but in his final season at Spurs, he had a phase where he was using a back 3. Hakimi had played for Inter last season in a similar position. This might signal a change in the system for the club or can be used in important Champions League matches.
Expectations at PSG are going to be sky-high, Qataris have invested billions and are waiting for what they consider as Holy Grail, the Champions League title. It is a no-brainer where Achraf would play, at Right Back or as a Right Wing Back.
In this role, Hakimi loves making overlapping and underlapping runs and prefers spending more time in the opposition box. Hakimi isn’t shy to be on the ball as he averaged 66 touches per game, whereas Kevin De Bruyne, one of the world’s best midfielders had about 81 touches per game. Showing eagerness to get on the ball more often has served him well. To put things into context, PSG’s RB from the previous season, Alessandro Florenzi, created 9 big goal-scoring chances with an expected goal value of 1.89, whereas Hakimi created 20 big goal-scoring chances with an expected goal value of 5.67. Not only that, Hakimi made more tackles per match, won more aerial duels and made more interceptions than the Italian last season. As the stats speak for themselves, Hakimi already looks like a much-needed upgrade on Florenzi and by far, for PSG.
Achraf Hakimi brings a plethora of skills in his locker and experience of top-flight football from two of the most challenging leagues in the world, whether he stands up to his high standards or not with PSG, only time will tell, but he sure is one to watch for the upcoming season.