With reports in the Italian media suggesting that Chelsea are working hard to sign Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan, some fans may be wondering why Thomas Tuchel sees the right wingback position as being a priority to strengthen, especially considering he already has Reece James.

It is a rather perplexing decision, particularly as we know Inter are holding out for €80m (£69m). That money could be better spent on someone like Erling Haaland so why are the Blues making the effort to sign Hakimi instead?

Some have speculated that James could be moved into a centre-half position next season; something Tuchel did try in the closing stages of last campaign, but even so, it is not as though Cesar Azpilicueta is going anywhere.

So we have decided to look at the numbers to see whether there are any key differences between James and Hakimi which could explain things. Press the next page as we go through the stats (based on numbers from FBRef).