Inter director Beppe Marotta has revealed he expects the deal to sell Achraf Hakimi to Paris Saint-Germain to be completed "within a day or so".

The Morocco international only arrived in Italy from Real Madrid a year ago and played in 37 of 38 games as his new team claimed the Serie A title under Antonio Conte.

However, with the Italian champions now keen to balance the books, and Conte no longer in charge, they have agreed to sell one of their prized assets in a deal rumoured to be worth around €70million.

Marotta admits losing a player who scored seven league goals from wing-back last term is regrettable, but he believes the transfer fee will go a long way to easing the club's financial concerns.

"Piero Ausilio (sporting director at Inter) was working on it, we are in the conclusive stages. There are some formalities to be completed, but I think within a day or so we can conclude it," he told Sky Sport Italia.

"Obviously, this is a painful moment for us, but I am an administrator who must guarantee the economic sustainability of the club during a difficult time for the world of football in general.

"Once the Hakimi deal is concluded, it will allow us to have a bit of breathing room and we really hope that we will no longer need to sell any other big players, as we want to maintain most of the squad that won the Scudetto."

As well as offering plenty of threat going forward, Hakimi made more tackles (38) than any other Inter defender last season - a fact that underlines how difficult he will be to replace.

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin and Davide Zappacosta of Chelsea have emerged as potential arrivals, but Marotta insisted patience will be key as Inter plan their next move.

"We are a team, working with the coach and various collaborators," he added.

"We must have patience to make the most of opportunities on the transfer market. I don’t expect the big clubs to make many large transfers."