Hakim Ziyech has been a pale shadow of himself since his £36 million move to Chelsea from Ajax. His dip in form has come as a surprise to many who used to follow him during his time at Ajax, especially during their impressive round in the Champions League under Erik Ten Hag.
The 29-year-old has started once in his 14 appearances for Chelsea this season in the Premier League. Before the World Cup, there were calls by Chelsea fans on social media for Graham Potter to play Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic ahead of Conor Gallagher and Raheem Sterling.
Despite his poor form at Chelsea, Hakim Ziyech was one of the star performers at the World Cup. He was instrumental as Morocco made history as the first African Nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Emmanuel Petit has revealed that he told Hakim Ziyech before the World Cup break that his performance at Chelsea is miserable.
What did Emmanuel Petit say about his conversation with Hakim Ziyech?
He told Mega Casino: “ When Arsenal beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge before the World Cup [in early November], I was working on French television and was on the pitch when I saw Hakim Ziyech running on his own.
“During a break from filming I said to him: “Hakim, I don’t recognize you. Where is the player we know? Are you going to stay like this forever, sitting on the bench with terrible body language? You look so miserable.
“You need to come back to the player we saw at Ajax. You’re a world-class player, you need your confidence back. Do yourself a favor and fight. Don’t accept the critics’ reality.
“So many people have criticized you, you need to fight and show some pride. That is the definition of a sportsman. Show some more respect for yourself and don’t accept this situation. Fight.”
“He had a difficult relationship with Morocco, but then everything went right at the World Cup. If you want to be a top player, you need to do things the right way.”
Chelsea will be in Premier League action on the 27th of December. Chelsea are currently eighth in the Premier League after three consecutive defeats.
Asked about his Chelsea future, Hakim Ziyech said: It’s hard to say, difficult to say. We don’t know what will happen in the winter. It’s football, so it’s difficult to say.”
