Moroccan winger Hakim Ziyech’s loan move to French champions Paris Saint Germain collapsed due to Chelsea sending the wrong documents.
As per Sky, PSG lodged an appeal to the Professional Football League (LFP)’s legal committee, alleging that the Blues had initially sent incorrect paperwork after the agreement was finalized.
After that, Chelsea had sent the correct documents twice but without the necessary signature needed for the transfer to go through.
By the time the Stamford Bridge outfit had sent the proper paperwork, signature and all, the transfer deadline day had ended with Ziyech stranded in Paris. The player had passed his medicals and was waiting for his official unveiling but things fell apart in the last minute.
Meanwhile, Chelsea announced the signing of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica on Wednesday after days of complex negotiations between the clubs to secure the Argentina midfielder for a British transfer record 106.8 million pounds ($131.46 million).
As the deadline day approached its end on Tuesday, it appeared a deal might not be reached but a statement from Benfica confirmed that it had been done shortly before 2300 GMT.
Premier League club Chelsea announced the signing on Wednesday via a video on Twitter, which showed a clip of a clock ticking down, making a reference to race against time to sign the World Cup winner.
Benfica’s statement said Chelsea would pay the contract release fee for the 22-year-old, who has signed an eight-and-a-half year deal with the London club.
It takes Chelsea’s transfer spending in January alone to close to 300 million pounds and to more than 500 million pounds since last May’s takeover by an investment group led by American Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.