Chelsea have agreed to sell Hakim Ziyech to Roma this month and the Morocco star has also ‘said yes’ to the move, but it will only happen if Nicolo Zaniolo departs.
That’s according to Calciomercato, who say that Ziyech has held talks with Jose Mourinho and ‘confirmed his liking’ for the Italian club.
They explain that he is happy as he would get a ‘guaranteed starting position’ under Mourinho in Rome, something that hasn’t been on offer at Chelsea for a while.
There is also interest in the Moroccan from Everton and Aston Villa but both the player and Chelsea ‘would prefer’ for the player to move to Italy.
Chelsea are ‘willing to wait’ for ‘a few days’ for a transfer to happen but if it becomes clear it will not, then discussions with Everton will be reopened.
Chelsea are expecting to receive just over €25m for the former Ajax star, the same figure that Roma are hoping to get for Zaniolo.
Ziyech has a higher salary than the Italian midfielder so that would be an issue but there are two ways for them to get around that, by using the Italian Growth Decree and spreading the wage package over four or five years.
That would drop Ziyech’s wages, which are currently €6.5m and unaffordable but could drop to €5m and then even further with the application of the Growth Decree.
It all rests on the sale of Zaniolo, though.
