A lot of the attention over the last few days has been on Charles De Ketelaere’s arrival, and subsequently the Hakim Ziyech rumours have quietened down a bit.
According to Calciomercato.com, the signing of De Ketelaere does not necessarily exclude the chances of Ziyech arriving too but the chances of seeing both arrive have shrunk over time. The Chelsea winger changed his representatives and likes the idea of joining Milan, but there are at least two obstacles to overcome.
The first is the operation itself, because Ziyech could only arrive via a loan formula with an option to buy. Regarding salary, the Moroccan would be willing to try and work something out with Milan but a little help from Chelsea is still needed, because the bulk of the budget was invested in De Ketelaere.
Then there is the issue of whether a gap in the squad is actually present. Junior Messias has been in good scoring form in preseason while Alexis Saelemaekers is also present and De Ketelaere can also play on the right if needed, so there are question marks about whether that role is actually full.
However, Maldini knows that you can never say no to quality, so if the resources allow it and the opportunity presents itself – likely in the second half of August – Milan will certainly give it a try.
