AC Milan to make €20m move for Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech in January — report

With no club football for the next six weeks and only the World Cup to occupy our time, we can look forward to more than the usual amount of transfer rumors as we head into the January transfer window. In fact, here’s one already: AC Milan to act on their previously also reported interest in Hakim Ziyech.

Surprisingly, according to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Football-Italia), the Rossoneri are eyeing an actual transfer rather than just a loan, and are willing to pay €20m to make it happen, which is half of what we paid to Ajax in 2020 but probably the best we could do right now. That said, Milan would have to raise part of that fee through their own player sales, and Ziyech’s wages are an obvious concern — as they always are whenever we try to jettison spare parts — so I wouldn’t necessarily rule out this potential transfer turning into just a loan in the end.

Ziyech has barely played this season, under either coach — just 2 starts and 271 minutes in 9 total appearances — and he’s looked to be one foot and one full mind out the door for some time now. It’s unfortunate that the Wizard of AMS has been far from magical for us, but it’s probably best for all involved if we can make some sort of move happen in January.