On more than one occasion former Tottenham hero Rafael van der Vaart has suggested his old club should sign Hakim Ziyech. The Moroccan joined Chelsea in a £33.6million deal in the summer of 2020 instead, however.
Van Der Vaart, who spent two successful seasons in north London with Spurs would have loved his old club sign him from his other old club, instead of Chelsea. Speaking in 2020 the Dutchman said: "Still a bit heart broken our MVP is leaving Ajax and Dutch football, to have seen him in a Spurs shirt would have softened my misery."
Ziyech has struggled to assert himself in a Chelsea shirt since his move to London, starting just 30 Premier League games in two-and-a-half seasons at Stamford Bridge. He has played under three managers in that time, which will not have helped, but none have shown sufficient faith in him.
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He is back in favour with his national team Morocco, however, and has already shown a glimpse of his class on the world stage. Ziyech was the focal point for his country as they took on Croatia in their opening Qatar World Cup clash on Wednesday, often starting attacks for the African nation, pinging balls across the park at will, although his teammates were not always on the same wavelength.
Ziyech was heard saying to the assistant referee "are you joking, are you joking" when a decision went against him. Things did not quite go his way in the second period, as he drifted out of the game - much more like how his stint at Chelsea has gone thus far.
Van der Vaart also said in 2022: "I've been saying that for some time now. I believe Ziyech is the type of player who could make a big impact in the current Spurs team.
"With a playmaker like him, chances are things will start to go much better. Then Son [Heung-min] doesn’t have to go deep to collect the ball and [Harry] Kane can just remain up front as a striker as well. They miss someone who can feed them those balls. Now they have to work too hard."
Ziyech has been tipped to leave west London on more than one occasion during his two-and-a-half year stay. Ajax and Spurs have been the two most likely destinations. And Dutch journalist Johan Derksen believed in the summer staying in England was more likely than moving back to the Netherlands.
Derksen said: "Ziyech was the big star in the Netherlands and actually failed at Chelsea. I can imagine that he prefers Tottenham, because he still wants to succeed in England. A bit like a failure [to return to the Netherlands]. He is received here with applause, that would be a warm welcome, but then the boy has failed in England."
More recently, Van der Vaart has spoken about how Ziyech could help Tottenham win the Premier League. "Hakim Ziyech has to join Tottenham," he told Ziggo Sport. "If Tottenham get Hakim Ziyech, they could win the Premier League. I am serious."
football.london understands the 29-year-old wanted to leave Chelsea last summer, but no other team could tie up a deal. And reports have emerged in the lead-up to the World Cup that Chelsea will listen to offers for the Moroccan in the January transfer window.
Ziyech picked up pockets of space during Morocco's World Cup opener with ease and clearly has an eye for a pass. Whether he would be able to help Spurs win the Premier League on his own, however, is another matter entirely.
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