Garth Crooks has admitted he’s loved the way Hakim Ziyech has started his Chelsea career, claiming his recent display against Burnley was a sign of more things to come.
After sustaining a pre-season injury, Ziyech had to watch on from the sidelines in the early weeks of the campaign due to his knee problem and had to wait to until October to make his competitive Blues debut
But manager Frank Lampard has now been able to ease him into the side recently and he’s now started back-to-back games.
The £100,000-a-week (Spotrac) skilful right-winger scored on his first start last week in the Champions League against Krasnodar, while at the weekend he got a goal and assist in the Premier League against Burnley.
Ziyech’s introduction to the team has helped spark a couple of victories for Chelsea and it’s clear that he gives the side an extra creative threat in the attack with his left foot.
BBC pundit Crooks is already extremely excited by the Morocco international after his brief spell at Chelsea so far and feels he showcased his talent against Burnley.
“At Burnley, he scored his first Premier League goal for Chelsea. On that performance, it won’t be his last. Hakim Ziyech scored in the Champions League in midweek against Krasnodar and looks capable of scoring lots more,” Crooks told BBC Sport.
“The Morocco international looks so balanced and comfortable on the ball. The way he took the ball from Reece James with his left foot and then transferred it to his right in order to slide the ball to Timo Werner to score was quite stunning. The ball never stopped travelling forward and as a consequence it never gave Burnley’s defence any time to readjust. It looks as if the Atlas Lions have found another star – with Chelsea now getting the benefit.”
Ziyech looked an exciting signing for Chelsea when they secured a deal for him from Dutch giants Ajax, albeit they had to wait until the 2020/21 campaign for him to join despite it being concluded back in February.
He’s the individual that makes the Blues far more unpredictable in attack and it appears like there is a much better balance when he plays, plus he could form a great combination with attack-minded right-back Reece James.
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