In a summer of spending that signalled real ambition for Frank Lampard and Chelsea, Hakim Ziyech’s arrival from Ajax for around £35m was not the headline act. Nevertheless, few other Premier League signings have looked so instantly at home as Ziyech has at Stamford Bridge, and he has quickly shown he has the potential to make a sustained impact. Lampard, keen to create an environment in which the Moroccan can reproduce the form that helped Ajax reach the 2018/19 Champions League semi final, has immediately been impressed.
“With Hakim, we have brought in someone with a real different quality to what we’ve had here in recent years – a left-footed right-sided player,” Lampard said. “He plays in a way that is very much about opening up chances for others with his crossing ability and his final pass. He’s got great confidence and he is a dream to work with.”
Ziyech is a right winger who likes to take up a very wide starting position and then drive infield with the ball, on to his stronger foot and into positions where he poses his greatest threat. He is most dangerous coming into central areas and looking to play killer balls to teammates making diagonal runs towards goal, usually from the left. He is particularly skilled at playing deft balls over a defence with potent accuracy, and if his teammates time their runs well, they often very suddenly find themselves with a one-on-one shooting opportunity (below).
The dip with which Ziyech plays those balls is one of his greatest skills, not only because he so often creates clear-cut chances for his teammate, but also because he teases the opposition goalkeeper with a ball that looks like it might float through to them but drops short into the zone in front of goal. Ziyech is capable of manipulating the ball impressively, and that leads to him creating plenty of chances for his team.
He also regularly cuts inside from a wide starting position and targets the goal directly, meaning he provides a goalscoring threat similar to that posed by one of his predecessors at Chelsea, Arjen Robben. His slight frame and dribbling skills are reminiscent of Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez, though he is far weaker on his right side than Mahrez, who can shoot with power with both feet, and that may be an area of his game that Ziyech should improve. He has incredible balance, speed and acceleration, is able to shake off the attention of an opponent with ease, and generally uses those qualities to create himself shooting opportunities, rather than going down the line to cross. Full article here
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