“Disappointing” – Former Chelsea star slams sackings & club’s transfer policy after summer departure

Hakim Ziyech has criticised Chelsea’s strategy regarding managers and transfers after joining Galatasaray during the summer transfer window.

The 30-year-old departed to Galatasaray on loan until the end of the season, but his switch to the Turkish side will be made permanent next summer.

Ziyech made 107 appearances for Chelsea during his time at Stamford Bridge, scoring 14 goals and registering 13 assists. The Moroccan won several honours in the capital, including the Champions League and Club World Cup.

He was one of many departures in the summer following Mauricio Pochettino‘s arrival in west London as the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership completed a squad overhaul, offloading the likes of Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Kalidou Koulibaly.

An exodus and overhaul over the last 18 months has caused Chelsea’s results on the pitch to suffer. Thomas Tuchel was sacked early on in the Boehly-Clearlake ownership and was replaced by Graham Potter, who was unable to last a full season. Frank Lampard took the reigns until the end of the 2022/23 season on an interim basis.

Pochettino took charge in the summer and oversaw Ziyech’s departure and the Morocco international has opened up on his time in west London, blaming the changes, club management and football.

“Pff, Chelsea, we can talk about that for a long time,” Ziyech told Voetbal. “But the conclusion is that things did not turn out as we had hoped.

“It was a period full of coaching changes, nagging with the club management, a departure to Paris Saint-Germain that did not happen at the last minute and it was disappointing in terms of football.”

He added: “We had three teams there with top players. At a certain point we run out of patience. A selection with forty players for one team is simply far too much and is asking for problems.”