Achraf Hakimi is on the verge of moving from his current club Real Madrid to Inter Milan.
The Moroccan loaned by BVB have already given the Italian top club his promise for a transfer this summer.
According to information from Sky Italia, the transfer is around 40 million euros.
Most recently, Borussia Dortmund also attempted to retain their loan player.
“We can imagine a stay of Hakimi at BVB,” said sports director Michael Zorc recently, but also referred to the right-back’s contract at Real Madrid.
“We would like to see him with us for longer, that’s clear too. But we cannot influence it on our own”, said Zorc about the Hakimi personnel in the spring.
“I believe that Achraf knows very well what development he has taken with us. He just took it from us, not anywhere else.”
However, Inter has apparently won the transfer battle for Hakimi.
Hakimi’s wish is to play regularly at a new club.
At his former club Real Madrid, this would not be the case due to the competition from Dani Carvajal – but it would be the case with the current third in the Serie A table.
In this scout report, we take a closer look on Hakimi´s playing style.
In the tactical analysis, we will also figure out how Hakimi will fit into Antonio Conte´s tactics at Inter.
Achraf Hakimi Role in the system at BVB
Recently, head coach Lucien Favre lined up his team in a 3-4-3 formation in attack.
This system offers considerable flexibility, as it can transition into a 5-4-1 formation in defence.
Crucial for that are the two wing-backs.
While Raphaël Guerreiro is used to play this position on the left side on the pitch, Hakimi played on the right-wing at Dortmund.
To no surprise, Favre has eventually deployed Hakimi in a more advanced role.
Last season, Dortmund operated in a 4-2-3-1 system and used Hakimi primarily at left-back where it was pretty obvious that he was a defensive liability.
In the picture below, you can see Dortmund´s 3-4-3 formation.
This means, that in attack, Raphaël Guerreiro and Hakimi played as midfielders.
Without possession, they shifted into a more defensive role as full-backs within a back five.
Then, the two wingers, in this case Thorgan Hazard and Jadon Sancho, dropped into the midfield position.
In attack, the two wingers, Hazard and Sancho, drifted towards the centre of the pitch and were therefore positioned near their forward.
At the same time, these movements opened up space for the wing-backs.
That is why, Hakimi played a very offensive part in the Dortmund system under Favre during this campaign.
As you can recognize in the following image of the realistic positioning, Dortmund played in a 3-2-5 shape with seven players within the opponents´ half when they were in possession.
In the following map, it becomes clear that Dortmund most often attacked the right side of the pitch.
Definitely, that is proof of Hakimi´s offensive playing style, as most chances were created on his wing.
That is why Dortmund will miss him next season, and it does not make sense to let him go, as they have a matching right and were always informed about an Inter offer, so that they could make an offer as well.
In this campaign, Hakimi played in 85% of all matches across all competitions, making him an irreplaceable starter for Favre.
Achraf Hakimi Role in the system at Inter
Like all teams under head coach Conte, Inter is well-known for its outstanding performances in defence and is therefore regarded as one of the best defensive teams in the world.
What makes the move to Inter so appealing is that Conte also employs a system with wing-backs.
Adding to that, Inter plays with a double pivot and one central offensive midfielder.
The two strikers complete the line-up.
Again, the two wing-backs move between the backline and midfield line in transitions and therefore, play a very important role in Conte´s tactics.
And, Hakimi is a perfect player for transitions.
The outstanding attribute for Hakimi is his athleticism which is so noticeable that he is almost always the fastest player on the pitch.
The 21-year old clocked a top speed of 36.2 km/h against RB Leipzig recently.
His threat on the counter lured Favre to use him as a wing-back.
Currently, Inter uses Antonio Candreva as the right wing-back, who is not as quick and agile as Hakimi, nor poses the same attacking threat.
They improve their squad tremendously with the reception of a more prolific and frighteningly quick wing-back.
In the map with Inter´s realistic positioning, you can see that the three offensive players are not positioned next to each other in the centre, but instead they are more spread out.
It is outstanding that Inter´s wing-back Candreva is positioned high up the pitch, as Hakimi is at Dortmund.
Ashley Young, on the left wing, plays more conservatively and defensively.
Hakimi, who can play on both wings, would slot straight in on one of the two wings.
If Conte wants to play more offensive against, Hakimi could come in for Young on the left side.
Then, Conte would have two wing-backs who are primarily offensive-minded.
If Conte wants to play more defensive, he will use Hakimi instead of Candreva to have also one conservative wing-back with a more defensive playing style on the pitch.
This season, Inter created most of their chances through the centre.
One of the reasons for this might be the absence of a wing-back, as Inter only have former wingers or full-backs in their squad.
Additionally, they acquired creative playmaker Christian Eriksen for their central midfield.
Lautaro Martínez played more as a false 9, initiating many attacks from the centre as well.
With Hakimi on the wing, their playing style will get more flexible and more unpredictable.
It will add more sharpness to Conte’s system, specifically in regards to progressing the ball, while they also over-relied on their midfield to create for their strikers.
Achraf Hakimi Off-the-ball movement
One of the most important aspects of wing-backs is their off-the-ball movements during the match.
Hakimi is well-known for his overlapping runs.
As mentioned earlier, Dortmund´s right-wing drifted into the centre to open up space for Hakimi.
With Hakimi making an overlapping run, the player in possession has several passing options.
Having Marcelo Brozović, Eriksen, and likely Sandro Tonali, Inter have an array of distribution options in their midfield to complement Hakimi’s use of pace whenever he gets in behind.
In the situation below, Hazard plays as a right-wing and is in possession.
Looking for a passing option he drifts into a more central area.
With Julian Brandt playing as striker and Hakimi as right wing-back, Hazard has now two passing options.
Even if he plays to Brandt, Brandt has two options.
He can turn and dribble into a more advanced area on the pitch or he can set up Hakimi on the right-wing who, then, can create a goal-scoring opportunity with a cross into the opponent´s box.
So, Hakimi can support the offence with his progressive runs.
In the map below, you can see his progressive passes as well as his progressive runs.
In average, Hakimi provides 3.54 progressive runs per 90 minutes which is the fourth-best result in the Bundesliga.
Again, Hakimi´s pace helps him a lot in these situations.
By comparing Hakimi´s statistics with those of Inter´s current wing-backs, we can see that he is by far the best in terms of progressive distance (599 meters per 90 minutes) as well as successful dribblings (2.13 per 90 minutes).
This means that he is definitely the most technically gifted full-back from the list.
Achraf Hakimi Chance creation
Hakimi’s pace is complemented with absurd acceleration.
He hits top gear quickly which is advantageous in all areas of play.
The effectiveness of his pace, however, is what’s earned him much acclaim.
Watching Hakimi‘s movement, you are almost guaranteed to think he was once a striker.
He utilises his speed by making perfectly timed runs in behind, providing a constant through-ball threat for backlines.
Hakimi is a rare asset in counter-attacks, both in terms of assisting and finishing for his position.
His shooting technique enables him to finish from every angle, and even his weaker foot is not a significant weakness.
As you as can see here, Hakimi starts out wide and passes to Sancho, while making the perfect run through the defence.
He finishes the ball with top composure and showcases his admirable off-the-ball movement once again.
In terms of wing-play, Favre developed Hakimi into a superb assister.
He is impressive at scanning the box and finding the open teammate for a cutback.
His crosses are hit, more times than none, with perfect weight and timing, but his accuracy is sometimes a bit off.
By doing his typical movement, Hakimi runs to the byline and then, most of the time, plays a flat cross back into the penalty area.
The image below is an excellent example of his movement and the subsequent flat cross into the penalty area, where a teammate was often positioned.
Another example: If Hakimi does not need to sprint to the byline, he drifts more centrally and plays a more vertical flat cross into the penalty area again.
As Inter have a very good header with the likes of forward Romelu Lukaku, Hakimi will have to play more air crosses instead of flat ones.
At Dortmund, Hakimi made the most of his chance creation.
In the Bundesliga, he scored five goals and assisted nine more.
In all competitions, he scored nine goals and made ten assists.
These are 19 goal contributions in 45 matches this season.
As you can see in the list below, he outperformed his xg.
He even assisted 4 more goals than expected.
At his former club Madrid, only Karim Benzema contributed more goals (24) this season.
At Inter, only the two forwards, Martínez (23) and Lukaku (30), contributed more goals.
With the pairing of Lukaku and Martínez, Hakimi will have active runners for his strikers, who are more than capable of supplying the right finish for his crosses.
That is why it will be interesting to see, how many they will score with Hakimi assisting them next season.
Again, we take a closer look at his statistics compared to Inter´s current wing-backs: Comparing the passes into the final third (3.92 per 90 minutes) and his xa (0.14 per 90 minutes), Hakimi is only average.
Candreva has the highest xA of 0,28 per 90 minutes and Asamoah completed the most passes into the final third (4,54 per 90 minutes).
The reason for these numbers might be the fact, that Asamoah and Candreva are former wingers who are now playing as wing-backs with a very offensive playing style.
Achraf Hakimi Playmaking
In case Conte still wants to play through the centre, this will be no problem for Hakimi, as he has assisted several goals from this kind of area as well.
Not only his crosses are dangerous but so are his interface passes too.
In the image below, Hakimi received the ball out wide but this time, he started to drift into the centre as Brandt moved out wide.
Thanks to his overview, he is able to play a perfect-timed interface pass to Sancho who can score easily from within the opponent´s box.
In the following situation, Dortmund is in a quick transition and Hakimi reacts quickly to play a through ball to Sancho who is starting a run in behind the defensive line.
In fact, Hakimi played the fifth-most passes as a wing-back/full-back (67.58 per 90 minutes).
Quite good 84,34% of these passes were successful.
This is an ability that will be crucial in creating goal-scoring opportunities after counter-attacking situations at Inter.
In the comparison below, it is notable that Hakimi makes the most successful pressures (4.83 per 90 minutes) and subsequently uses his good passing ability to contribute successful passes during the transition.
Only Asamoah (85,4%) has a higher passing completion rate than Hakimi (84,34%).
However, Hakimi appears to be an ideal player for high pressing and transitions.
Achraf Hakimi Defensive contribution
Hakimi´s offensive playing style is fascinating.
However, as a wing-back, he is also responsible for defensive work.
Due to his aggressive playing style, he frequently struggles to reposition himself in the backline.
It is evident that his position requires an intense work rate; therefore, Hakimi needs to run up and down the wing frequently.
This also means that Hakimi will have to improve his stamina as his defensive contribution is his biggest weakness.
As already mentioned, Inter is well-known for its defensive stability, and it concedes only a few goals due to the discipline of its defenders.
In defensive transitions, Conte´s intensive play philosophy also demands that his players get behind the ball as quickly as possible.
In the image below, we can see Inter in a defensive transition trying to get all players behind the ball to intercept Juventus´ attack.
All five defenders are behind the ball and together with the central midfielders, they build a compact shape with numerical superiority.
In the following image, we take a closer look at a defensive transition of Dortmund.
They only have three defenders against four strikers and Hakimi should be in a more defensive position on the pitch.
This would help him preventing a goal-scoring opportunity by marking his opponent.
However, in this situation, his opponent has to much space to receive a possible pass.
In the following image, Dortmund faces another counter-attack.
And again, the distance between Hakimi and his next opponent is too large.
If Düsseldorf´s forward plays a through pass between Mats Hummels and Łukasz Piszczek to his teammate, Hakimi will not be able to go into a tackle against his opponent.
Even if systems with a back-three or back-five always involve the risk of wing-backs coming back too late, Conte got his team to be disciplined enough to be behind the ball very quickly.
Not only the defensive line, but also the midfielders and forwards work back intensively as you can see in the match against Barcelona:
Compared to Inter´s wing-backs, Hakimi is dispossessed too many times during a game (1,85).
This can lead to goal-scoring opportunities for the opponents very quickly.
No Inter wing-back is more often dispossessed than 0,9 times per 90 minutes.
Nevertheless, thanks to his pace and intelligence, he is able to win a lot of tackles (1.65 per 90 minutes).
Only Danilo D`Ambrosio wins more tackles (1,73 per 90 minutes).
This suggests that Hakimi could be crucial to the defensive shape, even if he may be dispossessed occasionally.
Even his quickness obviously helps Hakimi in this regard, as it allows for recovery; however, he still lacks positional awareness.
That is why this is an area where Hakimi will need to improve during the following season.
He is known to get caught out by wingers both directly defending the ball and while off it.
Hakimi’s next step in development is to improve his concentration and defensive awareness in his own half.
This might be the reason why Real Madrid did not want Hakimi to stay, as they play with a back four where these kinds of mistakes are even worse.
Conclusion
The Moroccan improved a lot at his loan spell in Dortmund and developed himself into maybe the best wing-back in the world, especially due to his offensive threat.
All in all, this is a tremendous move for both sides.
Hakimi gets a coach renowned for having well-drilled defensive sides, which will improve his game.
Conte also gets a dynamic offensive weapon that is perfect for the system he plays.
As shown in this analysis, with Hakimi in the squad, Inter is one step further in the title race and could challenge Juventus even more next season.
