Chelsea have proposed three more players to Inter Milan in order to try and secure a deal for Achraf Hakimi, with Mateo Kovacic one of the names who could be included in the swap.
The London club have made signing a new wing-back one of their major priorities this summer and Hakimi is their number one target, with Inter Milan needing to sell at one of their star players to balance their books.
Chelsea are believed to have made an initial offer worth £51.5m plus either Emerson Palmieri or Andreas Christensen, but are now moving to sweeten the deal further.
According to Corriere dello Sport, the blues have now offered three more players to tempt Inter into selling: Davide Zappacosta, Tammy Abraham and Kovacic.
The Croatian – who has previously played for Inter before joining Real Madrid – is a real surprise because he has been an important player for Thomas Tuchel, with the coach frequently praising him.
Zappacosta is surplus to requirements and Chelsea are desperate to sell him, while Abraham has fallen below the pecking order, as he did not even make the bench for the FA Cup & Champions League finals.
Despite Chelsea’s offer, the problem they face is that Inter need to free up funds and get players off their wage bill – not add more salaries on more players.
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At this stage, Inter Milan are believed to only be interested in a straight cash deal for Hakimi and are not considering swap deals, with the Serie A giants holding out for a mammoth fee.
Inter want to create a bidding war between Chelsea and PSG and believe they can get up to £68.7m for the Morocco international.
There is also a possibility that Inter will not need to sell Hakimi at all if they can get a buyer for Lautaro Martinez instead – who is wanted by Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Barcelona and other big clubs – though they want £77.2m for the striker.
