Chelsea

Chelsea

Premier League • England

Ben Jacobs reveals all on Hakim Ziyech future plans amid jarring Chelsea, PSG transfer failure

Hakim Ziyech, Chelsea v Watford May 2022

Hakim Ziyech in action for Chelsea against Watford

Ben Jacobs has revealed to TEAMtalk why PSG have linked Chelsea’s deadline day chase for Enzo Fernandez to their own failed move for Blues winger Hakim Ziyech.

The two sides had agreed the terms of an agreement for the Morocco international to spend the remainder of the season with the Ligue 1 leaders. However, issues with the paperwork emerged soon after the deadline and the transfer ultimately collapsed.

Ziyech had already passed his medical as he was left in waiting room at PSG’s training ground.

And now Jacobs has revealed exactly how things went down, including a denial from the Chelsea end that they were at fault for the transfer falling through.

Jacobs told us: “Chelsea made it very clear from their end that it was not about ‘incompetence’, it was an unfortunate technical error out of their control. And they sent a minute-by-minute account of how things transpired.

“PSG appealed to the LFP [Ligue de Football Professionnel] the following day, who rejected it because they don’t want to set the precedent of allowing players to sign after the deadline. It was always very difficult to win that appeal and there was always low confidence from the PSG end.

“But Chelsea did help with that and provide their side of things to try and see whether a technical error might be deemed to be mitigating circumstances. Unfortunately for all parties nothing could be done.”

Jacobs also explains why PSG felt Chelsea took their eye off the ball with Ziyech, as they were still trying to get their British record deal done for Enzo Fernandez from Benfica.

Chelsea star could still push for PSG transfer

He added: “Chelsea were working on a lot of deals towards the end of the window, and although the club denies that their pursuit of Enzo Fernandez affected anything, PSG argue otherwise and sources there believe that Chelsea had too much on their plate.”

Ziyech is now focused on playing out the rest of the season with the Blues. Indeed, he was surprisingly handed a start in the draw with Fulham, just a few days after the collapse of the PSG switch.

Jacobs added: “Ziyech has no desire to exploit some of the windows that are still open. And we’ll have to wait until the end of the season to see if PSG come back in or whether Chelsea get other options when, maybe, the price is lower and if Hakim Ziyech is prepared to take a reduction in his personal package.

“The other thing to add on this story is that Ziyech was pushing so hard for the move that my understanding is he even offered to contribute financially in order to make it happen, and quickly.

“So there is a clear player desire there to get a move. And you can understand why he would want to move to PSG. He’d be playing alongside a compatriot in Achraf Hakimi. There’s also the Messi, Mbappe, Neymar appeal and it’s a city that he really likes. It was a good fit all around but unfortunately, the move didn’t happen.”

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