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Ajax Amsterdam have made their peace with losing Hakim Ziyech at the end of the season, with head coach Erik ten Hag telling Fox Sports on Wednesday night that he’s been expecting this to happen for some time now and he’s just happy to be able to keep the 26-year-old playmaker for a few more months.
Erik ten Hag: “Ziyech to Chelsea? A transfer was coming, we expected it to happen. And I actually already expected this 1 or 2 years earlier. And each time it was: ‘wow, he stayed again’. We are just happy that we will still have him until the end of the season.” [fox] pic.twitter.com/bYYh2RMRNK
— (@TheEuropeanLad) February 12, 2020
Ajax had rejected a Chelsea approach in January, but now the €45 million transfer — practically a bargain in today’s market — is set to be finalized, most likely this week already. While neither team have officially confirmed anything, the agreement has been widely reported and a full resolution should be happening shortly as well. (Whether either team will actually announce anything is another matter entirely though.)
Incidentally, Ajax are playing Chelsea B Vitesse (are they still Chelsea B?) at the moment, in the quarterfinals of the KNVB Cup. Ziyech was not selected to start, but he may yet make an appearance in the second half.