In his exclusive CaughtOffside essay, Johnson acknowledged that Hakimi’s future at PSG this summer is not totally guaranteed. The Ligue 1 powerhouses may not be actively looking to offload the Moroccan international, but they could be willing to do so for the appropriate price.
Johnson acknowledges that he can understand Man City’s interest in a player with Hakimi’s profile, but he also had some advice for Pep Guardiola and company.
When discussing the recent rumors that City was interested in signing Hakimi, the writer noted that the 24-year-old had a difficult season with PSG due to problems both on and off the pitch. Additionally, there may be concerns about his appropriateness for Guardiola’s rigorous defensive strategies.
“Achraf Hakimi’s name has surfaced once more, this time in connection with Manchester City. He’s not someone PSG are actively trying to sell, as I recently stated, but there may be a chance for a transaction to be made at the right price,” Johnson added.
“According to what I gather, this is their current stance, and they might be open to selling Hakimi if doing so would enable them to take out one of their other key targets. With Nordi Mukiele and Warren Zaire-Emery being able to perform that job as well, they don’t have too few other possibilities.
However, whatever happens with him this summer, there’s no denying that his career has somewhat stalled at PSG. It will be intriguing to see if Luis Enrique offers him the chance to resurrect it. His recent struggles have been both on and off the pitch, and any team considering making a deal for him will need to take the accusations against him into account.
“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.