Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech is reportedly a target for Manchester United, with Erik ten Hag keen to reunite with his former Ajax winger.
Ziyech made the move to Chelsea from Ajax in 2020 for £33.3m, but the transfer hasn’t been a perfect move for either party. Ziyech has been an unused sub in the Blues’ opening two Premier League games, with the winger starting less than half of Chelsea’s league games in the last two seasons.
Ziyech was a hit under Ten Hag at Ajax, with the Moroccan international playing a major part in the Dutch side's run to the Champions League semi-finals in the 19/20 season. And, according to French journalist Nabil Djellit via Four Four Two, Ten Hag has made Ziyech a priority for United this summer.
READ MORE: The five-step plan for United to turn their season around
United sit bottom of the Premier League after two losses from their opening two games, with Ten Hag still looking to add fresh blood to his side. A host of forwards have been linked with United in recent days, including Moussa Dembele, Matheus Cunha and Sasa Kalajdzic.
So, if United were to make a move for Ziyech this summer, how could he perform? Could he re-find his best form under Ten Hag and help get United’s season back on track?
We 'signed' Hakim Ziyech for Manchester United
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Ziyech to join United from Chelsea, using FM22 to run the simulation. We also updated United's squad with the latest transfers and the Premier League with the latest results.
Ziyech was thrown straight into the mix under Ten Hag, making 45 appearances in all competitions. 37 of those were starts, with 34 of his total games coming in the Premier League.
In those games, Ziyech had a good return, scoring eight goals and registering 12 assists. The winger almost doubled his expected goals, suggesting that he was more of a creator than a finisher in United's side.
When compared to his teammates, Ziyech was the fifth top scorer, with Bruno Fernandes ending the season with the most (20). Jadon Sancho had the highest average rating of 7.34 as he grabbed 11 goals and 19 assists, whilst Ziyech averaged a rating of 7.23 - only Cristiano Ronaldo and Anthony Martial averaged lower in the United attack.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2022 put together an overall best United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what United's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full United best XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Dalot, Martinez, Varane, Shaw; Fred, Eriksen; Ziyech, Fernandes, Sancho; Ronaldo.
Ziyech did make the Man United best XI, with Marcus Rashford missing out at his expense. Sancho started on the left instead, whilst Fred and Christian Eriksen were the chosen midfield partnership behind Fernandes.
United gained nine more points than the previous season in the simulation, but it wasn't enough for a top four spot as Ten Hag's side remained in sixth place. Seven points off the top four, United failed to qualify for Champions League football.
Ten Hag's side lost 11 of their 38 league games, and they also had the lowest goal difference out of the top six. Defensively, United were poor, conceding 10 more than any other team in the top six (47).
United still had a chance of earning a spot in the Champions League for the following season, but they had to win the Europa League to do so. After drawing 1-1 over two legs, United lost to RB Leipzig on penalties in the Europa League quarter-finals, confirming they would remain in the competition for the following season.
Ten Hag's side were also poor in both domestic cups, with the Carabao Cup quarter-finals the furthest they progressed. After a 2-2 draw, United lost on penalties to Watford and were eliminated, whilst a 2-0 home defeat to Bournemouth saw Ziyech's side knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round.
Overall, FM22 suggests that despite having an impressive impact in his first season with United, Ziyech could not help United improve on last season, with the problems in the squad lying elsewhere. The Moroccan was better than Rashford creatively, but with his playstyle similar to Jadon Sancho, United did miss a goalscorer in the squad, suggesting that a more explosive winger could be more beneficial this season.
Would you like to see Man United sign Hakim Ziyech? Let us know in the comments!
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