‘It’s better if he leaves Chelsea’ - Amrabat advises Ziyech to return to Ajax

• Amrabat wants an Ajax return for Ziyech
• Morocco captain feels Chelsea wasting the winger
• The 28-year-old has been vital for Atlas Lions at World Cup

WHAT HAPPENED? Ziyech joined Chelsea in the summer of 2020 after four years at Ajax but has found playing time hard to come by in West London, where he has managed 14 goals in 95 games, largely from the bench.

While the winger has only started one Premier League game in 2022-23, he has been one of the star players at the 2022 World Cup, driving Morocco to the last 16 as group winners and Amrabat feels he needs to return to Amsterdam to save his career.

WHAT DID HE SAY? "It's better if he [Ziyech] leaves Chelsea,” Amrabat told De Telegraaf as reported by Ajax Showtime.

“The fact that he plays so little is really a shame, because I really like to see him play football. I think he should go to Ajax to end his career there.

“But if he wants to. Ajax is a wonderful club, but then Hakim, with all due respect, will play against RKC [Waalwijk] and Sparta [Rotterdam] again. I can also imagine that he wants to take another look at Serie A, for example at AC Milan.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Ziyech has been Morocco’s playmaker in the World Cup where he has one goal and an assist, having been central to all the Atlas Lions’ attacking moves.

The 28-year-old has, however, found it difficult to nail down a starting place at Chelsea under three coaches in Frank Lampard, Thomas Tuchel and now Graham Potter.

A number of teams have been credited with an interest in the forward, including former side Ajax as well as Serie A champions AC Milan, and given his performances in Qatar, he could be the subject of a transfer tussle in the January transfer window.

WHAT’S NEXT? Morocco will be relying on Ziyech again when they take on Spain in their round of 16 match on Tuesday.