Former Chelsea star Joe Cole believes that Hakim Ziyech looks like a happier player when he’s in action for the Moroccan national team and that the Premier League isn’t the right place for him.
Ziyech really caught the eye during his time at Ajax, prompting Chelsea to sign him in the summer of 2020, but it just hasn’t happened for him during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Now, however, the 29-year-old is having a great World Cup, with Cole noting that he seems obviously happier in this team than he does with his club.
Cole puts that down to not being suited to the fast and physical nature of the game in England’s top flight, though he acknowledges that he clearly has great natural ability.
Discussing Ziyech on ITV, as quoted by the Metro, Cole said: “He just looks like a happier player for Morocco. He’s had a very difficult time at Chelsea and he hasn’t had a rhythm to his game.
“The Premier League doesn’t suit him. It’s aggressive, up and down. Playing for Ajax he could hug the touchline and the team would very much play through the lines, give him the ball and he’s got a lovely left-foot, comes inside and delivers the ball.
“But when we’ve watched him here, he’s playing with an intensity and a smile on his face. Ziyech is a talented boy but it’s just not worked for him at Chelsea.”
One imagines Chelsea will surely offload Ziyech in the near future as they’ll need to bring someone in who can perform consistently at this level.
It could help that the Morocco international is shining at the World Cup, as it will probably add to his price tag and attract potential buyers ahead of January.
Writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column recently, Fabrizio Romano explained why Ziyech failed to get a move to AC Milan during the summer.