Chelsea legend Gus Poyet felt that it was bizarre for the Blues to make no signings in the January transfer market and then announce a deal for Moroccon superstar Hakim Ziyech only a few days later.
Frank Lampard’s west London outfit confirmed earlier in February that Ajax star winger Hakim Ziyech would be moving from the Eredivise to Stamford Bridge at the end of the 2019-20 season in a reported transfer fee that could reach up to €44million.
Although the Uruguayan Poyet believes the Ziyech could prove to be an exciting addition to the Premier League, 52-year-old ex-Chelsea midfielder failed to wrap his head around why the move was announced soon after the club were allowed to make signings during the January transfer window.
Chelsea were hit with a transfer embargo which prevented the club from bringing in fresh faces before the start of the season. However, the ban was lifted during the New Year and club manager Frank Lampard stressed the importance of bringing in reinforcements at Stamford Bridge but still, no players were recruited by the transfer board at Chelsea during the winter.
Poyet spent four seasons at Stamford Bridge during his illustrious career and helped the London outfit to win the FA Cup, Cup Winners’ Cup as well as the UEFA Super Cup. In a recent interview, Poyet spoke to Stats Perform and stated that Ziyech is an exciting prospect for Chelsea but it was strange to understand why the 26-year-old did not make the move to England in the January transfer market itself. Poyet said, “A very good player, very interesting player (Ziyech). I didn’t understand – and I’m not criticising anyone – why Chelsea, after all that went on in the summer, not being able to sign players, get to January with the possibility of signing players, they didn’t, and then three days later, four days later, they announce they sign a player for next year. It’s not normal, okay?”
Poyet further added that it was a bit strange for Chelsea complaining to not having the option to buy but failed to improvise when their transfer ban was lifted, “I’m not saying it’s bad, but I lost it a little bit because you complain a lot about not being able to buy, then you have the chance to buy and you don’t, and then when the transfer window is closed you announce that you bought one.”
