Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech wants to leave Stamford Bridge, journalist Simon Phillips has told GiveMeSport.
Phillips has also stated that the Blues are happy to let the 29-year-old go and deem him “surplus to requirements”.
Chelsea transfer news – Hakim Ziyech
La Gazzetta dello Sport (via SempreMilan) recently suggested that AC Milan could make a move for Ziyech.
According to the Italian outlet, the Serie A side want to sell Ante Rebic and could reinvest the money they get for the Croatian in Ziyech.
A switch to the San Siro is something that may appeal to the Moroccan, who has struggled to find game time at Stamford Bridge this season.
As per Transfermarkt, he has not even made five starts in the Premier League yet in the current campaign.
What has Simon Phillips said about Hakim Ziyech and Chelsea?
Phillips says both parties are more than open to parting ways this month.
Speaking to GMS, the journalist said: “Ziyech, he wants to leave. He’s been keen to leave since the summer. Chelsea have always seen him pretty much as surplus to requirements, and they’d happily take offers for him. They’ve been like that for the last few months.”
Why does Hakim Ziyech want to leave Chelsea this month?
As touched on earlier, he just has not got enough game time under Graham Potter and at Stamford Bridge in general.
Much was expected of him when he arrived from Ajax in a deal worth around £36m in total, according to BBC Sport.
At his former club, he was excellent. In 165 matches for the Dutch giants, Ziyech scored 49 goals and provided 81 assists, as shown on Transfermarkt.
Unfortunately for his managers at Chelsea, though, he has not been able to replicate the sort of form that saw him record those numbers, which is why he has often been left out of the side.
“Of course, he never really has a smiley face, but now you can see from everything that he is not having a good time,” former Netherlands international Rafael van der Vaart told Ziggo Sport (via TEAMtalk) earlier in the season.
“I hope he goes to a club where he can just play and not worry about anything else. Ziyech is a boy that always has to play when you get him.”
It is clear, then, that Ziyech’s lack of game time and struggles in west London have pushed him towards the Stamford Bridge exit door.
Source: Give Me Sport
