Rafael van der Vaart has voiced his disappointment for Tottenham Hotspur missing out on Hakim Ziyech pursuit last year.
During an interview with Ziggo Sport, Rafael van der Vaart has offered his thoughts on Hakim Ziyech’s struggles at Chelsea. The former attacker feels disappointed by the Moroccan international’s struggles at Stamford Bridge and has claimed that his former club Tottenham Hotspur would have been a better fit for the player.
Formerly of Ajax, Ziyech moved to Chelsea last summer in a big-money move. He was part of the club’s huge spending spree in the market that also saw them land quality stars like Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. But none of the three players have quite hit the ground running, with Ziyech, in particular, struggling to even establish himself as a first-team regular for the club.
The Morrocan started in only 15 league matches last season and has featured only twice in the league in the new campaign, falling behind the likes of Mason Mount and Havertz in the pecking order, even though the latter has also faced criticism from Peter Crouch, particularly after the defeat to Juventus.
Nevertheless, former Premier League star van der Vaart, who had featured in 77 competitive matches for Tottenham, believes that Ziyech had made the wrong decision last summer.
Express has recently published the excerpts of his interview with Ziggo Sport, when the Dutchman has lamented the fact that his former club had missed out on the talented star, as they certainly could use a player like him.
“With hindsight, it’s easy, but I think it was a wrong choice,” said van der Vaart, who is currently the assistant manager of Danish outfit Esbjerg fB.
“I hope he still fully blossoms, but if he had gone to Tottenham, for example. They are lacking a player like him. He played very well at Ajax and did the same against Tottenham. Just take him then. With a player like that, Tottenham are title contenders, and they’re not now because they have all the same kind of players. It was a pity he went to Chelsea.”, he added.
Ziyech’s struggles at Chelsea, though, has opened up the possibility of a move away from Stamford Bridge. The Morrocan was on the radar of Atletico Madrid in the summer, but it won’t be surprising to see Tottenham, too, join the race to snap him up in the upcoming winter transfer window.
