Hakim Ziyech’s Al Nassr move collapses over medical ‘red flags’, revised terms — report

Hakim Ziyech’s proposed move to Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League has pretty much collapsed over the past 24 hours, with the 30-year-old now seemingly back to square one as far as his expected Chelsea departure may be concerned.

Initial reports were a bit confusing, alternately blaming concerns flagged during the medical as well as personal terms as the reason for this change, but it sounds like those two things are actually related. The medical did flag up some concerns (hip, knee), which apparently prompted Al Nassr to change their offer by a fairly significant amount: a 40 per cent reduction in wages, as per CBS Sports.

That is indeed a fairly drastic shift, though presumably it’s the principle of the thing rather than the actual amounts involved (I’m sure the offer is still quite generous) that has made Ziyech balk at the newly proposed terms.

So, “for now” anyway, Ziyech remains with Chelsea yet again. We’ll have to wait and see what develops from here. He is under contract for two more years and no other club has been seriously linked with him so far. And the fitness concerns (which were also raised during the January drama with PSG), won’t help entice any either...