Report: Dumfries to Inter in Final Stages

A month after Achraf Hakimi’s move to PSG became official, the Nerazzurri appear to have finally found the Moroccan’s replacement. According to Sky Sport Italia and SportItalia, PSV Eindhoven’s Denzel Dumfries is only a plane flight away from Milan. The 25-year-old Dutchmen will cost around €12 million plus €2.5m in bonuses and a deal is expected to be closed shortly.

In 124 appearances for PSV, Dumfries has notched 16 goals and 20 assists through all competitions. He was a constant threat in the final third and had 10 and 8 goal contributions respectively in the last two Eredivisie seasons. Dumfries was a regular for PSV but burst onto the stage this summer with the Netherlands at the Euros, scoring twice for the Oranje. Dumfries also averaged 2.29 shots created and 31 touches in the final third per 90 (via fbref). Dumfries’ defensive stats, however, are rather mediocre and could put a greater workload on Milan Skriniar’s shoulders. To be fair to Dumfries, he spent most of his time at PSV in the attacking half and had 3.53 pressures and 1.94 interceptions per 90.

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Finding a cheap Hakimi replacement that could perform at a similar level was always going to cause a massive headache for Beppe Marotta. But all things considered, this is a quality signing. At 25, Dumfries is just entering his prime and still has time to grow. He could take an adaption period as he goes from the much weaker Eredivisie to Serie A and i’s not ideal that Dumfries missed most of Simone Inzaghi’s first preseason. Don’t expect to see him starting next weekend against Genoa. And even if this signing does go haywire, the relatively small sum of €15 million is worth the risk. Should Dumfries translate smoothly to Italy Inter’s Hakimi-shaped hole will be significantly filled in.