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Former Roma star Medhi Benatia has revealed Chelsea new signing Hakim Ziyech almost joined Roma in 2019 before Chelsea swooped in to sign him from Ajax this year.
The former Roma defender told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I had tried to get him to come to Roma, and he would have run to join this club.
“I spoke to Francesco Totti and Edin Dzeko, telling them that this is the man they want.
“As a director, Francesco did everything he could to get the deal concluded, but Pallotta said it would be ‘an excessive expense’ and nothing ever came of it.”
Meanwhile, Lampard has also be tracking Hakim Ziyech since December and Marina hijack the deal in a massive way to convinced the player to join Chelsea.