Chelsea owner Todd Boehly and manager Thomas Tuchel are ready to offload Hakim Ziyech after sending Romelu Lukaku out on loan.
Lukaku, who was the Blues' record signing when he joined from Inter Milan in 2021, is set to return to his former club for the upcoming season. The Belgian was Chelsea's top scorer across all competitions last season but notched only eight times in the Premier League after his £97.5m move.
The former Manchester United striker is unlikely to be the only summer departure, though. Ziyech, who joined Chelsea from Ajax in 2020, is reportedly in talks over an exit after a couple of stop-start seasons.
According to Metro, Boehly and Tuchel are prepared to let Ziyech leave for the right price. The former Morocco star, who quit international football after a falling-out with boss Vahid Halihodzic, cost around £33m after impressing for Ajax in their run to the 2018-19 Champions League semi-finals.
AC Milan are thought to be among the clubs keen on Ziyech after guaranteeing themselves a spot in next season's Champions League. The Rossoneri won the Serie A title by just two points last season, and will be keen to improve on their group stage exit as they finished fourth in their group last term.
Chelsea have already lost two first-teamers this summer, with Antonio Rudiger joining Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen also leaving on a free with Barcelona heavily linked. Fringe players including Charly Musonda and Danny Drinkwater have also moved on, but new owner Boehly - who took over after Roman Abramovich's 19-year ownership came to an end - is expected to fund new signings with summer sales.
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A number of players have been linked with moves to Stamford Bridge as Tuchel looks to refresh a squad which finished a distant third last season behind Premier League top two Manchester City and Liverpool. City forward Raheem Sterling has emerged as a potential target, while there has also been interest in Barcelona and France star Ousmane Dembele.
Further players could end up leaving, too. goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was once the Blues' record signing, but Chelsea are said to be open to offers for the Spanish international after he lost his starting spot to Edouard Mendy.
“Right now I am a Chelsea player, but what I am clear about is that I want to play more, because I come from a year or two where, when I have played, I have had a great performance,” Kepa told Marca in a recent interview.
“For that reason, because of that good performance I had, the feeling is that I want more. I want to play more. I am at Chelsea and I want to succeed here. And if it wasn't possible, we would analyse other different things, because my clear objective is to play.”