Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech warned he may be sold in summer because of Thomas Tuchel

Posted Thursday, February 04, 2021 by Express.co.uk

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has been tipped to make some big decisions.

Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech may be forced out of the club this summer if Thomas Tuchel does not see him as part of his plans, according to former Blues midfielder Andy Townsend. Ziyech only joined Chelsea from Ajax last summer for a fee of £33.3million. The Morocco international has made just eight Premier League starts so far for the west London club due to missing the start of the campaign with an injury.

Ziyech started Tuchel's first match in charge of Chelsea last week, the 0-0 draw at home to Wolves.

But the 27-year-old was only an unused substitute for the visit of Burnley four days later.

And Townsend reckons Ziyech may be a player that Tuchel decides is not for him.

Townsend told Premier League Productions: "What he'll probably do, what Tuchel will probably do, more than probably what Frank was able to do, he will make judgements on some of that Chelsea squad over the next two or three games and he'll just go: 'No, no'.

Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech warned he may be sold in summer because of Thomas Tuchel
Chelsea news: Hakim Ziyech has been warned over his future under Thomas Tuchel (Image: GETTY)

"And it might be Ziyech who the club have just paid £50m for: 'No, you're not for me'.

"That's Petr Cech's problem then, 'get rid of him in the next window because I don't need him, don't want him'."

Townsend says it is normal practice for new managers to assess their squad and reckons Ziyech may not be the only player to fall by the wayside.

He added: "I think coaches that have just walked through the door, without the affinity that Frank [Lampard] had for Chelsea, - Frank felt like he probably wanted to help the club try and get more out of everybody - whereas sometimes these new coaches comes through the door: 'I don't care about him, I don't care about him, not bothered about Reece James, whether he's good enough for England one day or not, I'm not bothered about Tammy Abraham, I'll play who I want to play'.

"That's the difference in some respects and he will do that, you watch, over the next few weeks there will be one or two of that squad that will think: 'I'm not getting a game here, I'm done'."

Tuchel takes his Chelsea side to play London rivals Tottenham on Thursday.

And the German is looking forward to the head-to-head battle with Jose Mourinho.

"I am very happy to compete with a strong team against his side," Tuchel said.

"I am very happy to arrive with our quality, with our mentality and with the atmosphere we have right now. That’s the most important thing.

"Tottenham are very competitive, and very strong. It will be a challenge. Is it a clash of cultures? I don’t know.

"Jose is a winner and I want to implement the same in my team. We are at the highest level to win games and we will try everything tomorrow to beat them in their stadium."