Hakim Ziyech's transfer to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr is in "real danger" of collapsing after the Chelsea winger had "some problems" during his medical, leaving a real chance that the player could remain in the Premier League next season, claims transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
Chelsea transfer news – What's the latest on Hakim Ziyech?
In a change from regularly scheduled programming, selling players has been the order of the day for the Blues this summer, a change necessitated by the club's ballooning playing squad.
Whilst some of those departing Stamford Bridge are moving onto other European clubs, like captain Cesar Azpilicueta who is said to be on his way to Atletico Madrid, a significant portion of players are making moves to the burgeoning Saudi Pro League, such as Edouard Mendy.
One of those taking the latter option and heading to Saudi Arabia is believed to be the Morocco international Ziyech, who agreed on a deal to join Al-Nassr for a fee of £8m.
However, the deal now looks to be in serious jeopardy as, according to the Daily Mail, the player failed his medical test due to complications arising from a knee injury.
While these developments are certainly bad news for the player and both teams involved, there is still some hope of the deal going through, per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
He explained the situation on his YouTube channel: "Hakim Ziyech, he had an agreement down for Al Nassr, then we know that there were some problems in terms of medical tests there will be new checks, so this is not 100% off yet, but is in real danger.
"So we can say that this deal is not guaranteed at all, as it was a few days ago and so for Hakim Ziyech Chelsea will try to find different solutions, still waiting and still hoping for Al-Nassr to make it happen, maybe changing something or making new in the next days."
Has Hakim Ziyech been a success at Chelsea
It's hard to call Ziyech's tenure at Chelsea anything other than disappointing. Arriving from Ajax in the summer of 2020 for a fee of around £33.3m, people expected the tricky winger to make an immediate impact for the Blues and slot right into their starting lineup.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and since he arrived in west London, he has never started more than 15 Premier League games, per WhoScored.
His attacking output hasn't warranted any more starts than that either, with the 30-year-old scoring just six goals and creating just nine assists in his 64 league appearances.
He has suffered from reoccurring injuries during his time in west London, but they have only caused him to miss 17 games over three years, and so aren't the excuse they are for other players such as Christian Pulisic.
Where he has shone, however, has been with his national team. Ziyech played an instrumental role in Morocco's unlikely run to the World Cup semi-finals last year, for which his manager Walid Regragui hailed him as "incredible."
If he could have recreated just some of those performances for the Blues, he might well be staying this year, but as it stands, a move to the Middle East would probably suit all parties involved.