Sports

Chelsea seal agreement to sell Moroccan player, Hakim Ziyech to Galatasaray

Published

9 months ago

August 16, 2023

English Premier League club, Chelsea has sealed an agreement with Galatasaray of Turkey to offload Moroccan international, Hakim Ziyech before the end of the transfer window.

Ziyech, who has long fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge, is seeking a fresh challenge away from England, and with the huge influx of new players at the club, his chances of getting regular playing time in the team look slim.

The 30-year-old Morocco international winger is now expected to undergo a medical with the Turkish Super Lig club ahead of concluding the deal in the next few days.

Previous attempts to sell Ziyech by the London club had fallen through as moves to Paris St-Germain and Saudi Pro League club, Al Nassr, did not materialise.

Hakim Ziyech joined Chelsea from Ajax in 2020 for £33.3 million and made 107 appearances for the club in all competitions. But in the last two seasons, he has not been top priority for the team as successive managers have not found him worthy of being part of the squad.

Despite being one of the standout players for Morocco as the Atlas Lions romped into the semi final of the Qatar World Cup last year, Ziyech has become a peripheral figure at the Blues following a significant splash of funds on new players by American, Todd Boehly and his Clearlake consortium who took over the team in May 2022.

Ziyech was left out of Chelsea’s pre-season tour of the USA earlier this summer and was not named in the matchday squad in the 1-1 draw against Liverpool last Sunday. He was also not given a squad number for the new Premier League season.

Related Topics:Chelsea EPL Featured Galatasaray Hakim Ziyech Morocco

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Sports

Al Ahly, Esperance to clash in CAF Champions League final

Published

1 day ago

April 27, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Two of Africa’s club giants, Egypt’s Al Ahly and Esperance of Tunisia, will do battle next month over two legs for the right to be crowned champions of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.

Title-holders Al Ahly and their long-standing rivals Esperance both booked their places in the final with dramatic semi-final victories over DR Congo”s TP Mazembe and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa respectively on Friday night.

While Al Ahly, winners of five of the last seven editions of the continent’s top draw tournament, with a record 11 in total, overcame TP Mazembe with a 3-0 aggregate victory in the semi-final second leg after a goalless first leg last Saturday, Esperance surprised Sundowns with a 1-0 victory in Pretoria to wrap up a 2-0 aggregate win.

The two-legged final will mark the third encounter between Ahly and Esperance in the Champions League final, with the Egyptians winning in 2012 and the Tunisians triumphing in 2018.

In 2023, the two clubs clashed in the semi-finals with Ahly emerging victorious home and away, securing a 4-0 aggregate triumph.

Esperance who are aiming for a fifth Champions League title, will host the first leg in Rades on May 18, with the return fixture scheduled in Cairo seven days later.

Sports

Former Zambian captain Rainford Kalaba discharged from hospital after near-fatal accident

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Former Zambian national team captain, Rainford Kalaba, has been discharged from hospital weeks after he was involved in a near-fatal accident where he sustained serious injuries.

The accident which involved a head-on collision between a Mercedes-Benz car in which Kalaba was in, and a truck, had initially sparked fears for his life and has since been in the Intensive Care Unit of the Zambian University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

The good news on the footballer’s progress was released by the UTH Public Relations Officer, Nzeba Chanda, who informed that the Chipolopolo legend has been discharged after showing positive signs of recovery.

“Mr. Rainford Kalaba has been discharged from the UTH-Adult where he was admitted after being involved in a road traffic accident two weeks ago,” Chanda said, adding that Kalaba will continue his recovery at his family home.

According to local media reports, the 37-year-old was a passenger in a Mercedes Benz when it collided with an oncoming truck in the south-eastern Zambian town of Kafue a week and five days ago.

In his active playing days, Kalaba spent the majority of his club career at TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo, winning the CAF Champions League with the club in 2015 and the CAF Confederation Cup in 2016.

He also had a spell with clubsides in Portugal including FC Braga, and was a major part of the Zambian squad that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012 under Frenchman, Herve Renard.