Chelsea leave out Hakim Ziyech, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang or Romelu Lukaku from their 29-man squad for the USA tour.
As quoted by Evening Standard, AS Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto confirmed that the club had talks with Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech for a January move.
Ziyech was linked with a number of clubs last month. Newcastle United and Everton were among the Premier League clubs wanting his service, while French champions Paris-Saint Germain almost signed him on deadline day, only for an error from Chelsea’s side that halted the move.
The Moroccan international, who had an excellent World Cup, has not been able to crack it at Chelsea since arriving here in 2020. He was linked with AC Milan before the World Cup as well.
Anyway, here’s what Pinto said regarding talks with Ziyech and why he feels sorry for the player (h/t Evening Standard):
“It’s true that we spoke to Ziyech’s agents and Chelsea about him, he was one of our targets.
“I’m sorry for what happened to him, it was difficult for him, but those who say we were in contact with Ziyech’s agents were right.”
If we unwind the saga of why the former Ajax winger did not complete his move to PSG, it would surprise everyone. He was in Paris to make the loan deal happen, only for Chelsea to send the wrong documents and then there wasn’t enough time to do it all again.
Since that day, the Blues have played a game so far and Graham Potter started Ziyech in that against Fulham. It would be interesting to see whether the 29-year-old keeps his place in the side for the majority of the games till the end of this season.
There is no doubt that he is a quality player. It is a shame that things have not worked out for him in a Chelsea shirt. It is probably due to one drawback in his game – lack of pace for a winger. As good as he is on the ball technically, the pace isn’t there to terrorise opposite fullbacks.
We can only hope that he does not sulk after the PSG move mishap and continues to work hard for us. A good second half of this season may either solidify his place in this team or warrant a move to another club at a higher price tag.
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