The deal between Al Nassr and Chelsea to purchase Hakim Ziyech fell through as it was discovered that Ziyech had a medical condition during the inspection.
It was discovered by Al Nassr that Ziyech had an issue with his knee. Previously, on June 30, the Daily Mail reported that the two parties had disagreements on a number of personal grounds. In the event that the deal is completed, Al Nassr will pay Chelsea a transfer fee of ten million dollars and will pay Ziyech an annual salary of eleven million dollars.
Ziyech’s failed attempt to sign with Al Nassr marks his second setback in the transfer market in the past six months. In January, the transfer to PSG fell through because Chelsea was unable to finish processing the necessary papers in time.
Ziyech (left) only appeared in 24 games for Chelsea during the 2022-2023 season, and he did not score any goals for the club. Photo: AlamyZiyech (left) only appeared in 24 games for Chelsea during the 2022-2023 season and did not score a single goal for the club. Photo: Alamy
Ziyech made the move to Chelsea from Ajax in 2020 for a transfer fee of $30 million. The Moroccan winger was limited to just 24 matches for the Stamford Bridge team during the previous season. The majority of that has been contributed from the bench. The remaining time on Ziyech’s contract is two years.
After selling Kai Havertz, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Mason Mount over the summer, Chelsea were able to make room on their roster for Tiemoue Bakayoko and N’Golo Kante. During the previous season, the club finished in the 12th position in the Premier League and earned over 265 million USD. Additionally, Chelsea is interested in selling Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic, and Romelu Lukaku.
On the other hand, head coach Mauricio Pochettino brought in Christopher Nkunku from Leipzig and Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal. Both players are now playing for Spurs. The combined transfer fees for the two forwards come to 106 million dollars.
In the meantime, an agreement has been made between Al Nassr and Inter for the sale of Marcelo Brozovic. The Croatian midfielder, who is now 30 years old, chose to sign with Saudi Arabia instead of responding to an offer from Barcelona. Brozovic and Inter made it all the way to the final of the Champions League the year before, as well as finishing third in Serie A and winning both the Italian Cup and the Italian Super Cup.
The addition of Al Nassr bolsters the power that will back Cristiano Ronaldo. Even though Ronaldo scored 14 goals for them in 16 games during the previous season, they still finished second in the Saudi Pro League, behind Al Ittihad. This past summer, Karim Benzema and Kante were signed to play for Al Ittihad. Koulibaly and Ruben Neves were both purchased by another Saudi team, Al Hilal.