in

Chelsea complete first sale of summer transfer window as forgotten £37m star moves to Euro giants


CHELSEA have reportedly completed their first sale of the summer.

The Blues are looking to offload players in order to help them meet Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR). 

Hakim Ziyech is reportedly joining Galatasaray permanently from ChelseaCredit: Getty

Now Fabrizio Romano claims that they have agreed the permanent exit of Hakim Ziyech.

The Moroccan winger, 31, joined Galatasaray on a season long loan last summer.

Now he is set to stay there long-term, according to the journalist.

Romano posted on X: “Hakim Ziyech will not return to Chelsea as he’s staying to Galatasaray on permanent move.

READ MORE ON FOOTBALL

“Obligation to buy clause, triggered and signed as Chelsea already sent letter to Gala confirming the agreement.”

Speculation mounted in January that Galatasaray were contemplating terminating Ziyech’s loan early due to injury problems.

However, his form in the second half of the campaign seems to have persuaded them to turn it into a long-term deal.

Ziyech has scored eight goals in 21 appearances this season. 

Most read in Football

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS

It remains unclear what transfer fee the English side will receive for the attacker.

Chelsea forked out £34m to sign Ziyech from Ajax back in 2020.

Ashley Cole picks his all-time team-mates XI… but does it boast more Arsenal or Chelsea stars?

The star lifted the Champions League, Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup in the first 18 months of his arrival at Stamford Bridge but he struggled to impress.

After just six goals in 64 Premier League appearances, he was allowed to head to Turkey last summer.

And he has shone for Gala in the top-flight, scoring six times in 16 outings.

Ziyech and his Galatasaray team-mates are aiming to complete the double over the next few weeks.

They are currently top of the Turkish Super Lig, six points clear of second-placed Fenerbahce.

There are three games left of the season, including a crucial clash between the top two on May 19.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

Galatasaray were also declared Turkish Super Cup winners earlier this season after Fenerbahce forfeited the clash.

Their rivals fielded an U19 team and then walked off the pitch after two minutes.

Boehly’s impressively bad Chelsea job

By Andy Dillon

IT IS small beer to billionaires like Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
Understandably, the price of a pint at Chelsea, the cost of a coach to Bramall Lane or admission to a youth game won’t even register in the big men’s bank balances.
But when you run an English football club, even if you don’t know what’s of value to the fans, you should make sure there are people nearby that do.
Boehly and his sidekick are clearly failing in this regard and have scored an own goal just as spectacular as that from defender Axel Disasi against Leicester on Sunday.
The letter from Chelsea Supporters’ Trust to the chairman and his co-owner  was not your usual fed-up fan rant.
It may have been a devastating four-page assassination job on Boehly and Eghbali’s entire regime.
But did you notice how little griping was aimed at some of the abject football played by a massively overpriced and underachieving bunch of players?
What two hard-nosed American financiers make of being warned about the “irreversible toxicity, almost  irrespective of results on the pitch” in a withering assault on their ability to run a Premier League club would be a joy to know. Way to go, boys.
It takes some doing to p*** off the normally mild-mannered CST, an elected group of diehards ranging from mid-20s to retirement age and made up of largely professional people.
Not the kind of Chelsea fans who push black men off Paris Metro trains.
To them and many others who devote themselves to the pursuit of Chelsea FC, it is not all about silverware — contrary to outside perception.
There are some at Stamford Bridge with a sense of entitlement after so many years of winning trophies. But to most, it is a cult, a religion, a devotion. It’s about belonging and feeling part of it. Like at other clubs, win or lose.
The  price of a pint, a hot dog, a matchday programme, a season ticket or away travel may seem insignificant to those spending £1billion on a development squad.
But it means a lot to the fans who were there before and will be there long after Boehly and his pals from Clearlake Capital have cleared off.
And they don’t take kindly to being blanked either. The owners of Chelsea have predictably missed the point when it comes to the fan base. Next month’s game at Sheffield United is on Sunday, April 7.
Kick-off is at 5.30pm because of the city’s half-marathon earlier that day. There is also a train strike.
Yet the away end at Bramall Lane will be full. Just like it was on Christmas Eve at Wolves.
A friend paid £600 on the black  market for two tickets to see Chelsea the day before New Year’s Eve. He still hasn’t told his missus the true cost.
He was at Middlesbrough when a pathetic Chelsea lost 1-0 in a  midweek  Carabao Cup semi-final.
Chelsea have been awful most of this season and last. Yet my friend will still go. So will thousands of others who just want to feel part of the team, even a losing one. The perceived lack of communication from the owners is seen as a rejection of worth.
The CST points to a disconnect between club and supporters not seen since the early 1980s.
That was when then chairman Ken Bates tried to electrify the fences  surrounding the pitch to thwart the hooligans in The Shed.
With crowd numbers on the slide at Stamford Bridge as a result of Boehly and Behdad’s detached, lofty air, they may have to do the same again — only now to keep the fans in.


Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk


Tagcloud:

Conor Benn once again BANNED from boxing as he continues doping fight with BBBoC

Bournemouth vs Brentford LIVE SCORE: Latest Premier League updates as Cherries look to continue surge up the table