Achraf Hakimi has been the unlikely star of PSG’s season so far after arriving this summer and the Moroccan has opened up on why he chose the French giants over a proposed move to Chelsea
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Chelsea v Manchester City: Thomas Tuchel pre match
Achraf Hakimi has impressed since signing for Paris Saint-Germain for €60million (£51.5m) from Inter Milan over the summer and the full-back has opened up on why he turned down Chelsea in favour of the move.
The Blues signed Romelu Lukaku from Inter in a deal worth £97.5m, bringing the Belgian back to Stamford Bridge after seven years away.
Manager Thomas Tuchel also brought in Saul Niguez on a loan deal from Atletico Madrid with an option to buy the Spanish midfielder for £30million at the end of the season.
But Chelsea’s pursuit of defensive reinforcements was not quite as successful, having failed to capture Jules Kounde from Sevilla after baulking at the Spanish club’s asking price.
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It has also emerged that Tuchel was keen to add 22-year-old Hakimi to his ranks, but the versatile defender turned down the move in favour of joining PSG.
“I had two offers, one from Chelsea and one from Paris Saint-Germain,” he told L’Equipe.
“But I felt I had to come to Paris, that I would have been happy there.
“PSG is a great club, I really appreciate the support the fans gave me straight away. I was lucky because so many other champions joined me.
“I feel good at PSG, we have a dream team and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Under the management of former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, PSG had one of the most remarkable transfer windows in recent history.
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Les Parisiens signed Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Georginio Wijnaldum all on free transfers as they look to build a squad capable of finally lifting the Champions League trophy.
They also bought in 19-year-old left-back Nuno Mendes on loan from Sporting CP with the option to purchase the Portuguese prospect for £35million at the end of the season, which is quite likely.
Hakimi is the summer signing that has made the most significant impact since his arrival, the former Borussia Dortmund loanee has scored three and assisted twice in seven league appearances so far.
The Real Madrid academy product scored a brace earlier this week in a 2-1 victory over Metz, securing all three points for his side with a goal in the 95th-minute winner.
While it has been exciting to see one of their summer signings flourishing, some fans are baffled about how a front three comprised of Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar are still yet to excel against lesser opposition.
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After a 2-1 win over Lyon earlier this month, Pochettino stressed that only time will cause allow the trio to excel.
“We need to create those automatic movements over time and with training. We need to get together not only to train but also to play,” he said.
“We’re at a point where we have to combine the talent of Kylian Mbappe, for example, with the relationship between Messi and [Angel] Di Maria or Messi and Neymar, who already know each other.
“But we’re really happy with how we’re progressing with the improvements shown in the game against Lyon.”
