Chelsea miss out on Hakimi transfer – but he was never No.1 target this summer

Chelsea look set to miss out on Inter Milan star Achraf Hakimi as PSG aim to secure a long-term contract, but he was never the main target at Stamford Bridge.

Thomas Tuchel will be backed this summer following their Champions League final heroics against Manchester City, with Roman Abramovich keen to push for Premier League glory.

While missing out on Hakimi might come as a disappointment, it could've been a different story if the Blues had made the Moroccan their central target earlier this month.

Despite the likes of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner being key figures in grabbing the European crown, it is a new forward that has stolen the eyes of the Chelsea hierarchy.

According to Angelo Mangiante of Sky Sports Italy, Erling Haaland has always been Chelsea's key transfer target this summer, with Hakimi ready to sign a five-year deal with PSG.

However, Borussia Dortmund remain desperate to keep their star forward for at least another campaign, having watched him score 57 goals across his first 59 games for the club.

The 20-year-old grew up watching Leeds and Manchester City, and joined Dortmund for around £20m from Red Bull Salzburg in 2019 – could yet be available on a cut-price deal next summer.

Chelsea look keen to jump the queue and get their man before other clubs start bidding at the end of the season, and are said to be making good progress.

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Tuchel said of the striker back in April when asked if he would be visiting Chelsea: “I will not answer that, out of respect for the player and for Borussia Dortmund.

"He’s a Borussia Dortmund player, and of course, there’s big news around him and his agent. And it seems like they are creating a race for the player.

"But still everybody needs to accept, and I will fully accept, that he is a Borussia Dortmund player.

"A very promising player of course, but with respect to the situation he’s not in our squad, he’s not in our club so there’s no comment on anything else regarding him.”

Adding when asked if the club would be investing: "Honestly we have to wait.

"It's another strange situation with the pandemic worldwide. It is necessary that we as a club need to adapt and be patient. Is there even a market? How does it look? What can we invest in?

"Are there even chances to generate money? Is there interest in our players? Do other clubs have the capacity to buy players from us? Are we able to buy and do we want to?"

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