Chelsea take on Brentford in Premier League’s mid-week matchday as the Blues will look to continue their surge under Graham Potter. The former Brighton coach is quietly working wonders at Stamford Bridge, picking five wins in a row in all competitions after that 1-1 draw on his debut against Salzburg in the Champions League. The Blues’ boss has now issued an update on his Moroccan attacker Hakim Ziyech, who has fallen out-of-favour at the Bridge.
The £36 million 2020 signing from Ajax has miserably failed to reach his full potential at Chelsea, further falling behind the likes of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic. Ziyech had racked up a whopping 81 assists and 49 goals in 165 appearances for Ajax, which had earned a move to Chelsea. However, he has only managed 14 goals and 10 assists in 88 games for the Blues which has also drawn the ire of the club’s fans asking for his ousting.
Graham Potter to hand in the 29-year-old another opportunity at club
Hakim Ziyech fell behind the long pecking order at Chelsea after former manager Thomas Tuchel refused to trust him given his poor form. The winger saw only 27 starts across his 68 games under the German, becoming a mere bench warmer at the club. His move to the Premier League side has evidently not worked, with even an exit being touted for him this summer. Ziyech was reported to be close to quit Stamford Bridge, as negotiations with Italian champions AC Milan were in advanced stages as well.
However, the move collapsed in the last hours and Ziyech had to stay back at Chelsea. He once again found playing minutes hard to come by as Tuchel started him only once in 6 league outings. But the sacking of the German has brought some new hope for the winger in the form of Graham Potter. The new gaffer is all set to hand the 29-year-old a chance to impress him against Brentford, as he confirmed:
“He [Ziyech] is fine. He’s trained the last few days so he’ll be involved against Brentford. He had a really heavy cold which knocked him about for a few days so the game against [Aston] Villa came too soon but he’s trained well recently so he’ll be involved.”
That is some positive news for Ziyech who is yearning for regular minutes at the club. But it is difficult to see the attacker keep his place given the stacked options available for Potter to pick from in that position. Moreover, the Milan rumours haven’t faded away completely as a move is still on the cards for the former Ajax man. Further on, Manchester United too were reported to develop an interest in him after the arrival of his former boss Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.
Ziyech’s peak years in club football came while playing under the Dutchman at Ajax. He has an impeccable record of 35 goals and 53 assists in 100 games under Ten Hag, with a goal contribution every 93 minutes to that of 190 minutes at Chelsea. However, Ten Hag went for Ajax’s Antony as the Red Devils splashed a whopping £85 million on his acquisition.
Meanwhile, Graham Potter is eyeing some heavy rotations to his team against Brentford as the packed schedule is resulting in his players picking minor as well as major injury knocks. The Chelsea boss is already without Wesley Fofana, Reece James, and N’Golo Kante who is also set to miss the upcoming World Cup with France after undergoing surgery on his hamstring injury. Potter wants to avoid anymore casualties as he is tipped to test his bench against the Bees mid-week.