Chelsea have no plans of loaning out Hakim Ziyech in January amid interest from Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, The Telegraph reports.
The Morocco international had an average debut season with the Blues last term, registering six goals and four assists from 39 appearances.
He has continued to struggle for form this campaign. The 28-year-old has been restricted to just 182 minutes of Premier League football.
This has led to speculation that he could push for an exit in January, but the Blues have no desire to sanction a temporary deal this winter.
The club are open to permanent bids, but may wait until next summer with Thomas Tuchel reluctant to lose the player’s services mid-season.
With the Blues vying for five trophies including the FIFA World Cup, Tuchel feels he has a relatively small first-team squad to choose from.
Our view:
Ziyech has struggled to secure regular playing time since Tuchel took charge in January.
He appeared to have turned the corner after a bright pre-season this summer, but suffered a shoulder injury in the club’s UEFA Super Cup triumph over Villarreal.
Ziyech has since been out of contention for a regular starting role. He has not featured in five of the previous seven league games for the west London giants.
The £34.2m star was an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw against Burnley before the international break. Ross Barkley was handed a surprise start ahead of him.
It appears unlikely that he will reclaim a starting spot soon with Timo Werner set to return to first-team action after a brief spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
Mason Mount was in fine form before the international break with a hat-trick against Norwich City while Kai Havertz and Callum Hudson-Odoi also impressed.
Ziyech should earn minutes off the bench with the congested festive schedule, and it is up to him to win back the manager’s confidence by making goal contributions.
