Antonio Conte will owe a huge debt to Achraf Hakimi if Inter win the Serie A title, according to a report in the Italian media today.
Tuttosport’s print edition explained that Conte’s wing-backs have always had a crucial role in how his teams play, as shown by Hakimi’s cross for Matteo Darmian to score in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Cagliari.
Hakimi is playing a similar role at Inter to the one Stefan Lichtsteiner had in Conte’s first Juventus side, which won Serie A in 2011-12.
The main difference between the two is that Lichtsteiner only scored two league goals that season, whereas the Moroccan has already found the net on six occasions.
Hakimi is the second most prolific wing-back in Serie A this season, the Turin-based paper highlighted, with only Robin Gosens at Atalanta having scored more goals.
The 22-year-old is a key weapon for Conte whenever Inter need to break down an opposition defence, as demonstrated with last weekend’s victory at San Siro.
