It seems Paris Saint Germain weren’t the only club who tried to sign Hakim Ziyech from Chelsea in the last transfer window.
According to Roma director Tiago Pinto, the Giallorossi also made an attempt to land the winger from the Blues.
That was revealed by the club chief himself in a conversation with the Italian media today. Speaking to local journalists, he was directly quizzed if he ‘thought’ about signing Ziyech from Chelsea in January.
“It’s true that we spoke to his agents and Chelsea about Ziyech, he’s not the player I mentioned earlier, but he was one of the hypotheses. I’m sorry what happened to him, it was difficult for him, but those who caught us with Ziyech’s agents were right,” said Tiago Pinto (via Voce Giallorossa).
Ziyech’s transfer to Roma had indeed been a strong rumour in the Italian media in the final week of the window. But claims from the local press said that despite an agreement for the move, that would only happen in case Nicolo Zaniolo left the Giallorossi first.
It turns out the midfielder was the protagonist of a long saga, having turned down a move to Bournemouth and stayed until the end of the Italian and the English transfer windows. That closed many doors for Roma to make a big signing in the January market.