The Moroccan is currently pulling the strings at Ajax but he was on the verge of signing for Swansea City in the summer.
Paul Clement has performed minor miracles turning the Swansea City squad purportedly baffled by Bob Bradley’s ‘incomprehensible’ Americanisms by reminding them of the ins and outs of football rather than the alien sport of soccer.
Yet, perhaps The Swans wouldn’t have got their feathers in such a flap had they pushed through a deal for Hakim Ziyech in the summer. Calciomercato reported that Francesco Guidolin, the first of three managers to take charge at the Liberty this season, was on the verge of making the Moroccan his first summer signing.
And that fact that Ziyech, whose statistics at FC Twente bordered on the ridiculous, has only improved at the heart of Ajax’s attack perhaps explains why The Chronicle are claiming that he is now on the radar of Newcastle United.
The Magpies lack of creativity and goal threat in central areas has been a cause for concern this season and it’s fair to say Ziyech can back up reported interest. He’s scored six and assisted eight for Ajax this term while, in his previous two seasons carrying an otherwise limp Twente side, he scored or assisted another 54 goals.
For the record, Ziyech contributed directly to over half of Twente’s league goals between 2014 and 2016.
Swansea, meanwhile, continue to rely almost solely on Gylfi Sigurdsson to carry the creative burden. And while the Icelandic playmaker’s consistency means that has not become as big a problem as it could have been, Ziyech may at least have helped negate the need for three different managers and a ‘great escape’ of sorts.
And, if Newcastle get their man, a healthy dose of salt will surely be applied to the wound.
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