With the Fikayo Tomori deal now completed, there was expected to be an opportunity for Chelsea and Milan to sit down and talk about other deals.
The Olivier Giroud one isn’t included in this, since he’s already agreed a contract with the Serie A side and only needs Roman Abramovich to hold up his end of the bargain: letting him go on a free to a foreign club.
However, there’s also Hakim Ziyech, who Gazzetta dello Sport explain is now ‘estranged’ from Thomas Tuchel and ‘on his way out’ of Stamford Bridge.
The Morocco international never managed to replicate his great Ajax form at Chelsea following his €40m move, whether it was under the German manager or Frank Lampard before him.
Milan are interested because they could be on the verge of losing Hakan Calhanoglu, but they know any deal will now be difficult, mostly because of the Tomori deal.
The Serie A side only needed to pay the €28m pre-agreed fee, but tried to get a discount, which Marina Granovskaia simply refused to even acknowledge
That means ‘the operation that led to the redemption was much more laborious than expected’, which stemmed from the stubbornness from both sides.
There’s worry this whole deal could affect a potential deal for Ziyech, which is already difficult since Milan would need Chelsea to agree to pay some of his €7m/year salary.
Let’s see what comes of it.
