Chelsea left Paris Saint-Germain furious in the dying embers of transfer deadline day as Hakim Ziyech’s move to France collapsed.
The Moroccan international had been looking for a Stamford Bridge exit throughout the January window and thought he had found it with a switch to the French champions. PSG had been seeking someone to replace Pablo Sarabia within their first-team squad, after allowing the Spaniard to join Wolves on a cut-price deal.
Initially, Lyon’s young star Rayan Cherki had been their No.1 target, but OL refused to allow the homegrown starlet to depart, with Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas labelling PSG’s offer as “insulting”. They then turned their attention to former Barcelona winger Malcom, now with Zenit St Petersburg, but couldn’t agree a deal with the Russian side.
