AC Milan set to sell out-of-favour Samu Castillejo to Valencia | OneFootball

AC Milan are making room to accommodate the arrival of Chelsea flop Hakim Ziyech as they work on selling Samu Castillejo to Valencia.

Stefano Pioli has identified the Moroccan winger as his prime transfer target this summer.

Talks between Milan and Chelsea over Ziyech’s switch to San Siro have reached advanced stages, with the Rossoneri now looking to free up space for the former Ajax star.

As per Fabrizio Romano, the reigning Serie A champions are negotiating Castillejo’s move to Valencia as part of their bid to get rid of fringe players.

New Valencia boss Gennaro Gattuso has personally requested the signing of the 27-year-old, who has become a marginal figure in Lombardy over the past couple of years.

Castillejo has tumbled down the pecking order at Milan, seeing Alexis Saelemaekers, Rafael Leao and Junior Messias ahead of him in Pioli’s eyes.

He rarely featured for the San Siro outfit last season as the Rossoneri grabbed their first Scudetto in over a decade.

Desperate to reignite his career, the ex-Villarreal forward has already agreed personal terms with Los Che as he aims to return to La Liga after four years.

On top of that, Gattuso has had no problems convincing his former side to sanction the Spaniard’s return to his homeland, as Milan were happy to ship their unsettled winger out.

The deal should be announced quickly, allowing the Rossoneri to accelerate their pursuit of Ziyech and Club Brugge starlet Charles De Ketelaere.

Pioli’s men are frontrunners in the race to sign the prodigious Belgian forward, even though their initial bid of £17.2m fell short of Leeds United’s club-record £30m offer.

Though Milan may not be able to compete with the Whites in terms of financial strength, they can rely on De Ketelaere’s desire to move to Serie A instead of the Premier League.