Chelsea are planning to offer stalwart John Obi Mikel to Shanghai SIPG in part exchange as they look to bring Ghanaian frontman Asamoah Gyan to Stamford Bridge.
Incoming Blues boss Antonio Conte has been offered the international attacker by his current employers, with the Chinese side understood to be keen to get Gyan, who reportedly earns over £6 million per year in the Far East, off the wage bill.
Now 30, Gyan is keen on one final shot in a major western league, while Conte, an admirer of the forward from his time in Italy, sees the attacker as an experienced and explosive option as he looks to return the Blues to their former lustre.
Chelsea are set to lose Alex Pato and Radamel Falcao with their loan deals having come to an end, while both Loic Remy and Diego Costa have been linked to the exit door.
However, while Chelsea are keen on Gyan, they are unwilling to meet his wage demands, and are keen to convince Shanghai to contribute a hunk of the player’s salary.
According to Caught Offside’s sources, Conte is planning to coax the Chinese outfit into taking the responsibility for much of Gyan’s wages by offering them Mikel on a season-long loan.
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The Nigerian is entering the last year of his deal, and so the deal would essentially see the midfielder, whose time at Stamford Bridge appears to have come to an end in light of the imminent signing of Radja Nainggolan, end his decade-long stay in West London.