Glen Johnson has claimed that Premier League football is ‘too aggressive’ for Tottenham Hotspur transfer target and Chelsea winger, Hakim Ziyech.
The former England defender added that Ziyech, who could leave Chelsea during the January transfer window, is a ‘super player’ with high technical quality.
That has been showcased on football’s biggest stage, with Morocco becoming the first African nation to reach the last four of the World Cup, before getting knocked out by France.
Ziyech, who hasn’t scored or assisted at Stamford Bridge this season, was one of his side’s top performers as they created history that will be remembered for decades to come.
But ahead of a possible move next month, Johnson thinks Ziyech, who is a surprise target of Antonio Conte’s Tottenham, probably needs to move outside of the Premier League, as he told GGrecon.
“I’m a big fan of him and he’s obviously a super player, however, I believe that the Premier League may be a little bit too aggressive for him,” said Johnson.
“Technically there’s no doubt about what he can do as he’s one of the best, but international football is closer to Champions League football than it is the Premier League and what I mean by that is, is that you get more time on the ball and you’ve got more time to take the ball down and play.”
ZIYECH’S STOCK GOES THROUGH THE ROOF
The word stagnation comes to mind when talking about Ziyech and Chelsea.
There was huge excitement when he was one of many players, including Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, who joined the club when Frank Lampard was in charge.
The player Chelsea fans have seen at the World Cup hasn’t produced those performances on the domestic stage and it looked like it was all going to peter out with a low-key transfer for the player.
But the World Cup has probably saved both the club and the player. Ziyech might still get that big move again. Whilst Chelsea might get a few more millions for the versatile forward.
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