Chelsea star willing to take pay-cut in attempt to seal Stamford Bridge exit: Reports

Hakim Ziyech is reportedly ready to take a pay cut to leave Chelsea this summer. The forward wants to play regularly and believes he will not be starting every week at Stamford Bridge.

According to a report in CalcioMercato, Ziyech is ready to slash his wage demands to join AC Milan. The San Siro side have been in talks with the Blues this summer but are yet to strike a deal.

Ziyech did not start for Tuchel's side against Udinese on Friday night but played when the second-string team took on the Serie A side again on Saturday morning. The former Ajax attacker believes he will be used as a substitute by Tuchel and is looking to leave.

Speaking to Wett Freunde, Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio confirmed the situation earlier in July and explained:

"Ziyech wants to leave Chełsea. I think Chelsea want to sell Ziyech. I think it's just a matter of time. He has already said 'OK' to AC Milan's solution, but they need to reach an agreement with Chelsea, the right way, maybe a loan with an option to buy, maybe a commitment to buy. The problem is his high salary: €6 million net. That's very, very high for Italian football. There is a good relationship between Chełsea and AC Milan."

Former England international urges Chelsea to sell Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech

Former England forward Gabby Agbonlahor recently spoke with Football Insider about Ziyech and Christian Pulisic and urged Chelsea to sell both. Agbonlahor added that the two stars were incapable of handling the pressure in the Premier League and should be moved on.

He said:

"I think [Tuchel will] want to get rid of Pulisic, he'll want to get rid of Ziyech. I said last season, and I got hammered for it, that Ziyech and Pulisic are not good enough for the Premier League. They don't get past players, their end product is not good enough, they don't score enough goals. Thomas Tuchel has realised, now [Romelu] Lukaku has gone as well, they need more firepower up there because they will get left behind with what they've got."

Pulisic is set to stay at the club this summer after he was linked with an exit at the end of last season.