The latest on Chelsea attacker Hakim Ziyech’s future, what Graham Potter has said, and those Chelsea FC transfer rumours.
Chelsea Online News:
Chelsea attacker Hakim Ziyech has been linked with a move to Aston Villa. The Moroccan winger has only made ten league appearances for the Blues this season, and competition for places at Stamford Bridge has only heated up this month with the arrivals of Mykhaylo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke, and David Datro Fofana – and more could follow.
Despite having started three of the last four games in the top flight, Ziyech, who turns 30 in March, may depart Chelsea in the coming week in order to play for the first team more frequently. Newcastle has been mentioned, although it is alleged that Chelsea do not want to sell to a top four competitor, but Villa would be seen of as a feasible option.
Despite Graham Potter, the new Blues manager, having a favorable opinion of the forward who played in all seven of Morocco’s World Cup games in Qatar and scored once, there is no assurance that he will continue to start.
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At a news conference right before Christmas, Potter stated: “He played against Man City, and came on against Newcastle. Where he was when we first came, he was a little bit away from the first XI,”
“He’s been involved in the games and came on in the first game as a sub. We know his qualities, we like him as a player, and he plays between the lines with fantastic quality as we saw in the World Cup.
“At Chelsea, there are always good players who aren’t in the starting XI and have to be patient. Delighted for him, and kept in touch with him over the World Cup. Delighted for him that he got the game time, delighted for him that he helped his team, he’s a good guy and he’s got quality.”
Ziyech, who has been linked with a move to Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma alongside Villa, recently cryptically posted a photo of himself on Instagram with the caption: “The best way to predict your future…is to create it.”
Villa is prepared to wait until the summer to complete the majority of their intended business and won’t hurry into making additions unless Unai Emery can get the deals over the finish line.
