Flop will PAY Chelsea to finally get transfer

Tom Weber

1 Aug 2023 16:47 BST
3 min read

Hakim Ziyech is prepared to 'contribute financially' to help facilitate his Chelsea exit.

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The Moroccan is still stuck at Stamford Bridge. His move to Al-Nassr fell through after his medical examination yielded unsatisfactory results. The Saudi giants were prepared to take him anyway but only on reduced terms.

Ziyech, however, was not willing to accept the proposed 40 per cent pay cut despite the new offer including fitness-related add-ons that could have taken his earnings back up to the initial bid. The deal ultimately fell through.

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Both Ziyech and Chelsea would have wished for a much quicker conclusion to his failed stint in London. Indeed, the €40 million signing was on the verge of joining Paris Saint-Germain on loan in January, but Chelsea messed up the paperwork.

Back then, he was prepared to make financial contributions to facilitate his departure and now he is once again ready to do the same.

European preference amid Saudi interest

That is at least according to journalist Ben Jacobs, who reports that "Ziyech is prepared to contribute financially for the right European move." The 30-year-old would love to return to Ajax and the Dutch giants would love to re-sign him, but his wage demands are an issue, claims Jacobs.

PSG have no intention of going in for him again. This leaves Saudi Arabia as the only possible destination at this point in time and indeed, Jacobs says that Al-Ahli were ready at one point ready to revive Al-Nassr's offer for him - both clubs are owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF).

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Now, however, it is Al-Shabab, Ever Banega's club, who are particularly keen on the Chelsea man. Al-Shabab, based in Riyadh like Al-Nassr, are managed by Ziyech's former Ajax coach Marcel Keizer, but they are not, officially, under the aegis of the PIF and have thus not splashed the cash as much as other Saudi sides, though they have recently been linked with Alvaro Morata.