Hakim Ziyech has seen his hopes of a transfer to PSG break down at the last possible moment with the Ligue 1 giants left fuming after Chelsea left the player high and dry.
The Morocco star enjoyed an excellent World Cup with his country as they reached the semi-finals. And those stellar performances appear to have put him in the shop window for a lucrative move away from Stamford Bridge.
And after a season of frustration under first Thomas Tuchel and then Graham Potter, Ziyech spied a great chance to seal a move to Paris.
Indeed, Chelsea were willing to let Ziyech leave on an initial loan move, though at this stage, there was no option to buy. However, were he to impress, the Blues would have been unlikely to have stood in his way.
The move to the Parc des Princes was described as a ‘dream move’ for the former Ajax man. After all, the chance to team up with some of the world’s elite attackers in Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi does not come around often.
As such, Ziyech was eager to sign with the Ligue 1 giants and arrived with every intention of signing on deadline day.
And after passing his medicals, it only seemed a matter of when, not if, the deal would go through.
However, with Chelsea lawyers seemingly occupied elsewhere – the Blues earlier signed off the Jorginho sale to Arsenal and are also pushing through the finer details of Enzo Fernandez’s British record transfer – the move has failed to go through in time.
Ben Jacobs explains how Hakim Ziyech transfer broke down
Indeed, the documention was seemingly signed and sealed from the PSG end. However, with Chelsea failing to sign it off in time, trusted reporter Ben Jacobs has revealed the staggering turn of events.
He tweeted: ‘Hakim Ziyech deal is OFF. He is stranded in PSG club offices. Low confidence of any appeal or solution. Chelsea didn’t submit the paperwork on time.
‘PSG fuming. Ziyech has done everything in his power to make the move happen. Told he even offered to help financially. But right now he can’t be registered and is stuck in Paris.
‘PSG have an appeal route to LFP [French football’s French governing body for professional football]. But they are not optimistic on their chances.’
Fabrizio Romano added that ‘contracts are not validated as it stands’.
The news means Ziyech may be forced to return to Stamford Bridge if an appeal is unsuccessful. However, it seems both PSG and Ziyech will be left powerless with little optimism they can push the move through.
And with competition for starting spots at Chelsea tougher than ever, Ziyech will not fancy his chances of much game-time over the second half of the season.
SOURCE: teamtalk.com
