Al Nassr have qualified to the AFC Champions League play-in round and have Cristiano Ronaldo and former MLS flop DP signings Pity Martinez on their squad. The club signed Seko Fofana from Lens for 40 million euros to help the team looking ahead to next season.

Al Nassr had also wrapped up the signing of two other major stars, but those deals were both canceled as both players had issues.

Al Nassr signings fall through

The first player in question is Hakim Ziyech, the Moroccan failed his physical and thus the transfer has been called off. Ziyech was signed for 17 million euros but now the player will need to find another home.

The second player is Marcelo Brozović who was signed via Inter Milan for 23 million euros. Brozović was all set to go but Al Nassr changed the transfer fee at the last minute and Inter Milan declined the move. Marcelo Brozović has interest from Barcelona and maybe this situation opens up that door again.

Plans to revamp the sport in the nation have been given a boost especially thanks to January’s arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite the disappointment of losing out on Lionel Messi to Inter Miami in the MLS, the Gulf Kingdom was able to get the current Ballon d’Or winner, Karim Benzema.

The move coincided with widespread reports of high-profile players being linked to Saudi Pro League clubs in exchange for financial support from the country’s Public Investment Fund. The Frenchman, formerly of Real Madrid, will certainly not be the only high-profile signing this offseason; a slew of other stars are on the brink of moving to the Middle East.

Who is expected to become Cristiano Ronaldo’s new teammate at Al-Nassr?

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr have apparently stepped up their pursuit of out-of-favor Chelsea forward, Hakim Ziyech in the hopes of making him the next A-list player to leave Europe for Saudi Arabia. A representative from the team is believed to be traveling to London to try to sign the Blues player.

The 30-year-old winger intended on making a loan move to Lionel Messi‘s Paris Saint-Germain in January, but had the deal fall through in the nick of time due to bureaucratic mishaps in west London.

Fabrizio Romano, a transfer analyst, now claims that the Moroccan is set to go to the Saudi Pro League, namely at Al-Nassr. According to reports, Ronaldo’s transfer following the 2022 World Cup has piqued the interest of the Moroccan, who is reportedly considering a move to the Kingdom to play alongside the Portuguese star.

Morocco have recently ended their trip to Cameroon for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, losing to Mohamed Salah‘s Egypt in the quarterfinals. The former Ajax playmaker has not been part of the squad.

Things havegone south between Ziyech andHalilhodzic last year and it seems that their relationship hasn’t improved at all since then. If there was any chance for Ziyech to be recalled for the World Cup Qualifiers, the Morocco manager made sure of turning it down.

Morocco head coach blasts Ziyech, says he won’t be recalled to the national team

Halilhodzic made a shocking statement in September 2021, claiming that Ziyech pretended to be injured to skip training.“For the first time in my coaching career I’ve seen a national team player that does not want to train and claims to be injured although medical tests have shown that he can play,” he said, as quoted by As in Spanish.

“I will not tolerate this behavior as long as I’m the head coach. He was not disciplined in Morocco’s last two games and abstained from training. He didn’t look like a player for a national team fighting to qualify for the World Cup,” he added. And it looks like he has notchanged his mind. Nor will he.

“I can’t call a player like Ziyech, even if his name is Lionel Messi. He can ruin the atmosphere in the group,”Halilhodzic said when asked about Ziyech’s absence in the 2021 Afcon. “There is a group and I want to maintain that. I’ve already forgiven him twice, a third time is too much. It is not easy for me but you have to respect that. There’s no turning back.”

Morocco may have been knocked out of the continental cup but they are still on pace for a Qatar 2022 berth. They will face Congo in March in a two-legged playoff with a World Cup spot on the line. And ifHalilhodzic remains in charge of the team, Ziyech will probably not be part of the team.

The reality is that the calendar for big clubs like Chelsea is very congested, and managers need to make use of their full squads in order to manage the grind of a tight schedule. Chelsea is currently third in the Premier League and first in their Champions League group, meaning the club will play more games come the new year.

Now reports have surfaced that Chelsea may lose a few players during the January transfer window, something, according to 90min, Thomas Tuchel does not want. Here are the two players in question.

Timo Werner

Timo Werner is second or third string at Chelsea at the moment, but given some injury issues to Pulisic and Romelu Lukaku, Tuchel would like to keep Werner around until the end of the season. Werner has interest from Barcelona, but given their financial situation, it’s unlikely he will move there, at least now.

Hakim Ziyech

Much further down the pecking order is Hakim Ziyech, who has seen his playing time decrease significantly with the arrival of Tuchel. Nonetheless injuries have brought Ziyech into the lineup and the Moroccan has provided assists and goals in his limited minutes. Again, Ziyech every time he takes the field only heightens his value and could move on but at the end of the season, but not in January.

Following many years of making bad decisions, there’s a lot of work to do at Camp Nou to turn things around. In order to get back to the top, a strong squad is a must – but with no funds, it’s hard to build a competitive roster.

Targeting free agents has become an option, whileBarca also keep an eye on players who lack playing time. That’s why they were interested in Raheem Sterling. However, asManchester City askfor a lot of money, El Blaugrana may rule out that option to focus on two Chelsea outcasts instead.

Barcelona reportedly target two Chelsea players as alternatives to Sterling

Barcelona have been linked with the English winger in the summer but a deal failed to materialize. Although the Spanish giants would still welcome the former Liverpool star, they can’t afford City’s demands as the English side also looks unwilling to let him leave.

Therefore, Los Cules would look for another option. According to ESPN, Barcelona have set their sights on Chelsea’sHakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, who have dropped in Thomas Tuchel‘s pecking order.

As theydon’t feature regularly, Barca would try to persuade the pairby offering the playing minutes theylack at Stamford Bridge. The only way they could arrive at Camp Nou, however, would bea loan deal with an option to buy, considering Barca’s tight budget.

But Chelsea will unlikely get rid of Werner or Ziyechif it’s not for a great offer. In the summer of 2020, they bagged nearly €100m for both of them, whostill have room in the squad, although their appearances have been limited this term.

The Moroccan playmaker caughtworld soccer’s eye when he shone for the Dutch giants in a memorable 2018-19 Champions League campaign that saw Ajax pull off two upsets, first to Real Madrid, and later to Juventus.

However, his start to life in London hasn’t turned out as expected, with Ziyech struggling to deliver great performances on a regular basis and therefore losing room in the starting lineup. According to reports, the player grew frustrated with his lack of playing time and his future could be somewhere else.

Report: Hakim Ziyech could leave Chelsea for a Bundesliga club

Following a tough first year in England, Ziyech looked forward to bouncing back in the 2021-22. But the midfielder has only made fourPremier League appearances this season. He hasonly been a starter against Aston Villa, while he was an unused substitute five times and was not even in the squad vs. Brentford.

According to German outlet Bild, Hakim Ziyech wants to leave Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund could be his next destination. The Bundesliga side is believed to be interested in boosting its squad in winter, and a loan deal could pave the way for Ziyech’s arrival.

Even though it remains to be seen how things unfold, it would beunderstandable if Ziyech prefers a move away if he will continueon thebenchmost of the season. Injuries may have limited him to fewer appearances than expected at the Blues, but now he may feel like he’s ready to go and have more playing minutes.