Chelsea midfielder Hakim Ziyech has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in recent months.
The 29-year-old Moroccan international has fallen down the pecking order at Chelsea and he has started just two Premier League games for the Blues this season.
As per Ben Jacobs’ exclusive CaughtOffside column on Substack, Newcastle United were keen on signing the Chelsea playmaker but they decided to abandon their pursuit because of the player’s wages. Ziyech is reportedly on massive wages at Stamford Bridge and Eddie Howe did not want to break the wage structure at Newcastle.
The Magpies have Financial Fair Play concerns and they were not keen on upsetting the squad by bringing in a player on massive wages. In order to stay within the financial regulations and maintain squad harmony, Newcastle decided not to press ahead with their interest in the World Cup semi-finalist.
“Ziyech has very high wages, which is putting off a lot of clubs – Newcastle United, for example, didn’t want to pay Ziyech’s wages because they didn’t want to break their wage structure too significantly, while they have Financial Fair Play concerns as well. Unless they qualify for the Champions League and can change their budget, they have to be careful, and Eddie Howe is very keen as well to keep unity, and the way to do that is not to, halfway through the season, bring in a new player on sky-high wages, which could potentially unsettle the rest of the squad,” Jacobs said.
Since then, the player has been linked with Italian giants AC Milan as well, but their interest has cooled. Ziyech is keen on a return to Ajax, but the move seems unlikely.
“Ziyech would love to return to Ajax, but it’s not looking likely. Milan were interested in the summer but their interest has cooled at the moment,” Jacobs added.
Ziyech was outstanding for Morocco in the World Cup and he was crucial to their semi-final run. The 29-year-old is undoubtedly a quality player who has just not managed to adapt to the Premier League. It will be interesting to see if manager Graham Potter is willing to give him more chances to showcase his quality during the second half of the campaign.
Chelsea attackers Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Christian Pulisic, and Kai Havertz have all been largely underwhelming this season. Giving Ziyech an extended run in the side would hardly weaken the Blues significantly.