The 26-year-old will become Frank Lampard’s first signing as Blues gaffer as he looks to bolster his options in attack.
Chelsea are close to agreeing a deal worth €45 million ($49m) to signal Ajax winger Hakim Ziyech after the summer transfer window opens.
Goal can affirm the Blues tried to sign the Morocco international in January but were advised by the Eredivisie champions that they chose a transfer at the end of the season.
Talks are continuing, but it’s understood that the specifics of this deal are very close to being finalised ahead of the player agreeing personal terms.
Should the deal go through as expected, Ziyech would become Frank Lampard’s first signing because the prior Blues midfielder became supervisor at Stamford Bridge.
Lampard was unable to make any additions to his squad during his first summer accountable as the west London outfit were beneath a FIFA-imposed transport ban.
The Blues made efforts to sign Paris Saint-Germain celebrity Edinson Cavani and Napoli forward Dries Mertens, who are both out of contract at the conclusion of the year, as Lampard looked to add more firepower into his positions.
A deal couldn’t be struck for a player, but leaving the 41-year-old with only Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud to give competition for best scorer Tammy Abraham.
Lampard is going to be optimistic Ziyech will come to his side’s help in terms of improving their attacking returns in 2020-21, with the fireman has impressed since arriving at the Johan Cruyff ArenA from FC Twente in 2016.
The 26-year-old has scored 48 goals and laid on 82 assists in 159 matches to the Amsterdam outfit and is more than 1 goal involvement a match this year.
Among those goals came before in the effort at Stamford Bridge as he curled in a free-kick from wide on the right throughout Ajax’s controvery-filled 4-4 draw with Lampard’s side from the Champions League.
Ziyech’s arrival may mean that the end for two Chelsea veterans, with both Pedro and Willian’s contracts set to finish in June.
Pedro has interest from both MLS and the J-League in his solutions although Brazil global Willian has consistently been connected with Barcelona in the past several years.
Their potential departures would leave only Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi as natural widemen in Lampard’s group, and as such it’s been understood that adding breadth to the ranks was on the agenda.
