Out of favour but skilled Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech is currently at the World Cup with Morocco. After the Belgium game, he talked of a possible January transfer exit.
When Ziyech was asked about his domestic status following another fairly underwhelming showing, this time for his nation, the Moroccan gave a predictable and intriguing answer. Essentially he refused to rule out a permanent move from the Blues back to the Netherlands when the January market opens:
"When asked by NOS if he will move back to the Eredivisie in the January window, Ziyech said after Morocco’s 0-0 draw with Croatia on Wednesday: ‘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.’"
Clearly Ziyech hasn’t offered CFC what they needed on a regular basis. Yet the obviously gifted player has never really had the trust and safety of a consistent starting place to truly showcase his talents, in fairness. Maybe a switch is best for everyone involved, especially the west London side.
Brief World Cup roundup for Chelsea stars
Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly starred for Senegal as they defeated host nation Qatar 3-1 on Friday in Group A. With Ecuador and Netherlands above them and leading, the Senegalese have not yet secured progress to the next round.
Christian Pulisic’s United States outfit can be proud of themselves: there is not enough talk about how well USMNT stifled England and affected the match. To be fair, Gareth Southgate appeared to be angling for a draw in the drab encounter. Though the Americans are a more impressive side than many would have imagined.
Raheem Sterling was nonexistent in my opinion and is riding his luck as an elite footballer. Sterling’s numbers aren’t at all bad for CFC, yet we expect more influence at Premier League level. Meanwhile Mason Mount won’t be able to rely on his much-hailed off the ball work for very long because he is now often poor when on the ball. We are all aware of how qualified Mount is to lead the midfield for club and country, though he must show his qualities more often.
On Sunday, Belgium take on Morocco; on loan Blue Romelu Lukaku is a substitute. Later in the afternoon Mateo Kovacic will likely play for Croatia versus Canada. Cesar Azpilicueta and Kai Havertz shall probably feature for Spain and Germany in the evening, respectively.