Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are set to compete to secure a transfer for £26 million-rated ($34m) Crystal Palace star Daniel Munoz. PSG were dealt a major blow in their recent Champions League encounter against Bayern Munich as star full-back Achraf Hakimi suffered a horror injury after a challenge from Luis Diaz, and he has now been ruled out of action for at least a couple of months.
Hakimi's injury leaves PSG worried
Hakimi was forced off the pitch at the stroke of half-time after Bayern forward Diaz lunged in on the Moroccan defender. The ex-Liverpool star was originally shown a yellow card by the on-field referee but the decision was upgraded to a red after a VAR check. As for Hakimi, he was visibly in pain on the ground and had to be helped off the pitch. The defender also appeared to be in tears and the fear was that he had sustained a serious injury that would keep him out of action for some time.
Hakimi underwent medical examinations, which later revealed that he suffered a severe sprain in his left ankle, involving partial damage to the femoral syndesmosis and deltoid ligaments. The reigning European champions, however, later confirmed that the player won't need surgery but will be sidelined for six to eight weeks. Their statement read: "Achraf Hakimi has severely sprained his left ankle, which will leave him unavailable for several weeks."
Hakimi's freak injury has also left the Morocco national team worried as the Atlas Lions are not sure whether their star player will be able to take the field in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off on December 21 in Morocco. Speaking about Hakimi's importance in the team, Morocco head coach Walid Regragui has said: "Achraf Hakimi is an irreplaceable player. He was a contender for the Ballon d'Or. For us Moroccans, he is the best player in the world."
Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesPSG eyeing move for Palace's Munoz
With Hakimi set to miss a lot of action, PSG are naturally thinking of signing a replacement for their star full-back with the January transfer window now approaching. According to , officials in Paris are eyeing a move for Crystal Palace right wing-back Munoz as they see the Colombian defender as a perfect cover for Hakimi.
Barca to compete with PSG
reports that Spanish giants Barcelona are also keeping tabs on Munoz and the Catalan giants believe that they can sign the Palace full-back for a fee in the region of €30m (£26m/$34m). Munoz is an integral part of Oliver Glasner's squad and played a key role in the club winning the FA Cup last season. With his contract running until 2028, the Premier League side are expected to demand a fee they feel will be appropriate for an important first-team player.
Getty Images SportPalace stars in demand
After a successful 2024-25 campaign, players from the Eagles squad are attracting interest from across Europe. While Munoz is being eyed by two of the biggest clubs in the world, their midfield sensation Adam Wharton is also linked with a move away from Selhurst Park, with clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid keen on signing the English midfielder.
According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, Palace are preparing to offer Wharton a new deal soon as they don't want to lose their star player, at least for a low transfer fee. Speaking to , Romano said: "They want to extend this contract. So Palace are on it. They've spoken already to his representative several times about this intention they have to give him a new contract. At the same time, let's see what's going to happen there, because the boy has been super professional already last summer, when he already had some kind of opportunity if he wanted to go. But for Palace, he was untouchable. Also, in recent months, we had many rumours, and the boy, again, is behaving in a fantastic way. So Palace are super happy with Adam, and Adam is quite happy with Palace. He understands that he's probably at the best club to develop at this moment for him. But then in the summer, you never know, in case there is a big opportunity, a big financial proposal, we have to see what happens. So at the moment, there is this intention from Palace to give him a new contract, but we are not yet at the stage where we say, okay, it's guaranteed, because it's still early stages of the conversation."