Transfer expert Dean Jones says that Newcastle United are eyeing an ‘interesting’ move for Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech.
After signing winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, Chelsea reportedly have to cut two non-homegrown players from their squad before their UEFA Champions League encounter with Borussia Dortmund next month.
Ziyech is a player who has seen his game time limited this season, having completed the full 90 minutes just once in the Premier League and accumulating just five starts in total overall competitions (Transfermarkt).
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones says that Newcastle are ‘checking out’ Ziyech’s situation at Chelsea, in what he claims would be a ‘really interesting’ move:
“I’m told that on the back of Chelsea’s business, Newcastle are checking out the Ziyech situation. I think this is a really interesting idea to weigh up for the rest of this season to help them secure a place in the top four.”
TIF thoughts on Ziyech to Newcastle…
There is no doubt that there is a player in Ziyech, with former Chelsea defender Glen Johnson even going as far as to claim that he is ‘world class‘ on his day.
He showed that at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where he was Morocco’s third-best performer on their way to reaching the semi-finals, scoring one goal and making one assist in his seven appearances (WhoScored).
Ziyech’s crossing ability was hailed by his Chelsea team-mate Kai Havertz over the weekend, where he got the decisive assist in the 1-0 win at home to Crystal Palace in the Premier League, while sports broadcaster Vai Bhardwaj has previously claimed that he has a ‘magical left foot‘.
Nonetheless, Ziyech, sitting in the 89th percentile for progressive passes by midfielders in Europe’s top leagues, certainly has the abilities to excel in a team that starts him more frequently, and the Magpies could offer him a regular run of games under Eddie Howe.