The left-back was not in Julen Lopetegui’s plans at Real Madrid but has impresses during his loan spell in Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund will attempt to secure loanee defender Achraf Hakimi on a permanent deal, according to club CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.
The 20-year-old is on a two-year loan from Real Madrid and has made eight league appearances in Dortmund’s unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season.
Watzke used a speech to his playing staff to welcome Paco Alcacer to the club after activating the option to purchase the Spain striker from Barcelona outright and stated his intent to follow up the deal with another one for Hakimi.
Article continues below
Editors' Picks
Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put on a five-star show Lukaku sends reminder that his Man Utd career is far from over
“Dear Paco Alcacer, welcome to Borussia Dortmund,” said Watzke, who was speaking at the club’s annual assembly.
“And Achraf Hakimi – we will try to do the same thing with you, even though it will not be easy.”
Hakimi made nine league appearances for Madrid in 2017-18, scoring twice for the club then coached by Zinedine Zidane.
Since then, Julen Lopetegui’s ill-fated spell in charge of Los Blancos has come and gone, and it is unclear whether his successor Santiago Solari will include Hakimi in his plans.
Morocco international Hakimi has made the left-back spot his own this season, limiting Raphael Guerreiro’s opportunities in the first-team.
When Lopetegui was in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu the defender said that he would like to go back to Madrid but would need to speak to the management and see if he is in their plans.
An attacking record of six assists in 10 appearances in the Bundesliga and Champions League has raised Hakimi’s stock. Dortmund do not have an option to sign the full-back at the end of his two year loan spell, and may need to pay out a sizeable figure.
In any case, if Solari is still in the job when Hakimi’s loan ends, the defender may be keen to reunite with his former youth manager as he expressed his delight when the former Castilla coach was appointed.