"He is one of the players that you would try and ship out" – Pundit urges Chelsea to cash in on star player this summer

Former Tottenham Hotspur player Alan Hutton has asserted that Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech could be offloaded ahead of the upcoming season.

Ziyech, 30, has been speculated to depart the Stamford Bridge outfit since the turn of the year. Despite being linked with a loan switch to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in January, he failed to seal the temporary move due to certain documentation issues on the winter deadline day.

A left-footed technical operator renowned for his passing and crossing, the 50-cap Morocco international has re-emerged on PSG's radar. The Parisians are interested in snapping up the £30 million-rated winger in the upcoming summer transfer window, according to Football Insider.

When asked about Ziyech's PSG links, Hutton told Football Insider:

"I think he will be happy knowing that they are still there. Chelsea right now are in a situation where they have spent an awful lot of money, they have got a bloated squad, and soon they will have to get the numbers down for whoever the next manager will be."

Urging Chelsea to cash in on the former Ajax star, Hutton added:

"Yes, he will be happy that they are still there and he is one of the players that you would try and ship out. It is just a really difficult moment in time for the Blues, especially with the money that they have spent. There is a lot of pressure there but he is probably one of a number of players who will look to leave in the summer."

Overall, the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalist has netted 14 goals and laid out 11 assists in 102 matches across all competitions for the Blues.

Mark Lawrenson offers his prediction ahead of Chelsea's upcoming PL home encounter

In his recent column for Paddy Power, Liverpool great Mark Lawrenson predicted a 2-1 victory for Chelsea in their Premier League home clash against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday (April 15). He wrote:

"Brighton were robbed last week at Tottenham. Those decisions were absolutely, totally ridiculous but, of course, they got beat. Chelsea under Frank Lampard, I'll go for him to win his first game back at home. He won't want to have played three and lost three or else they'll soon be looking for another interim manager!"

The Blues are currently in the 11th spot in the 2022-23 Premier League table, with just 39 points from 30 matches – 17 points off the top four.