On the 23rd February 2020, it was announced that Hakim Ziyech had agreed to a deal to leave Ajax and join Chelsea FC.
That this move was announced without incessant media speculation was indicative of the player.
Whilst on the pitch Ziyech is a creative force, the Moroccan international is a team player off of it.
Even when he moved to Ajax, following the relegation and financial issues faced by his previous club FC Twente, Ziyech had not agitated for the move and the Twentenaren fans loved him for it.
Chelsea are getting a player who is capable of playing centrally or wide on the right but beyond the positional versatility, The Blues are getting a player who stands out in terms of creativity and attacking output.
The purpose of this Hakim Ziyech scout report is to, first of all, understand exactly what kind of player the Moroccan international.
After that, we’ll identify three potential replacements that the Dutch giants could turn to.
We will analyze one player who is already at the club, one who is based in Holland, and one from elsewhere in Europe.
Hakim Ziyech Scout Report
This season we had seen Ziyech play mostly from the right of the three-man attack.
He is naturally left-footed and this lends itself to the Moroccan coming inside when in possession of the ball.
He has a passing range that allows him to access all areas of the field from the right-side and his diagonal passes often create goalscoring opportunities.
It is interesting to consult data when considering the output of a player of this magnitude; allowing us to get a better understanding of how they perform on the pitch.
Below, we can find players with at least 1500 minutes and that have played across the midfield.
The database is centred on the the top five European leagues and the Dutch top-flight, Eredivisie.
Passes Into Penalty Area Per 90 Vs Expected Assists Per 90
As you can immediately see, Hakim Ziyech is the clear outlier.
The Moroccan star is registering over eleven passes to the penalty area per 90 minutes and an xA of just under 0.75 per 90.
Shots Per 90 Vs Progressive Passes Per 90
Once again we can clearly see that Ziyech is a standout.
He has a tendency to shoot from range once he has cut infield and will often shoot from distance.
This goes some way to explaining the fact that the new Chelsea winger is averaging over five shots per 90 minutes.
Shots Per 90 Vs Expected Goals Per 90
Once again Ziyech impresses with his amount of shots at goal but those shots also carry a genuine threat as the now former Ajax player has just under 0.40 xG per match.
Hakim Ziyech Player Profile
If we put all of that together then we can build a fuller picture of the profile that Hakim Ziyech presents and this, in turn, shows us what Ajax will have to try to replace.
Ziyech is a progressive passer who creates chances for his teammates .
The new Chelsea player is also a volume shooter who carries a genuine threat from range.
In short, the Moroccan is a key player in the Ajax attacking game model.
He will be a genuine loss for De Godenzonen.
Abdülkadir Ömür Scout Report – The Replacement From Abroad
The first of the players that I would recommend as a potential replacement for Ziyech is Abdülkadir Ömür of Trabzonspor and Turkey.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has been labelled the “Turkish Messi” by some and that alone gives some insight into Abdülkadir Ömür style of play.
Abdülkadir Ömür Player Profile
The first thing that we need to make clear is that, to an extent, the variances in output from player to player are partially down to the differences in club’s tactics.
Ajax are possession heavy and play on the attack a lot of the time.
Trabzonspor, on the other hand, are a side who play in transition a lot of the time with less time on the ball for their attacking players.
One of the first things that stands out when analyzing Abdülkadir Ömür style of play is his ability to beat a man in dangerous areas before finding passes to teammates in advanced positions.
We see an example of this above as Ömür picks up possession of the ball in the central areas.
The Turkish international beats one defender by making the defender commit himself, and then drives forward into a pocket of space.
As the 20-year-old beats the midfielder there is a wide player who makes a forward run to stretch the play.
Ömür is intelligent enough to hold on to possession of the ball until another defender moves to engage him.
He then plays a well-weighted pass out to the wide man before continuing his run to support the play centrally.
Abdülkadir Ömür is extremely creative around the penalty area and consistently finds angles of passes that create chances for teammates.
We see an example of this above as the ball is played into Ömür from the wide area.
The “Turkish Messi” takes possession just outside the penalty area and calmly lifts the ball over the defensive line for the forward to take a shot at goal.
Abdülkadir Ömür plays either from the right-hand side or centrally and stands out when taking up intelligent positions between the lines.
The 20-year-old constantly looks to drift off of the shoulder of defensive players into areas that are difficult to defend.
In the example above we see how he receives the ball in one of these pockets; by taking possession on his back foot and immediately turning to put pressure on the defensive line.
Calvin Stengs Scout Report – The Domestic Replacement
AZ Alkmaar have been one of the most impressive teams in Netherlands recently.
De Kaasboeren‘s willingness to blood and develop young players while favouring attacking football has caught the eye of many onlookers.
One of AZ Alkmaar’s key players in the last two seasons has been their attacking midfielder Calvin Stengs.
Like Hakim Ziyech, the 21-year-old Dutchman plays predominantly from the right side of a front three and, like the Moroccan, he is also predominantly left-footed.
Calvin Stengs Player Profile
Calvin Stengs is an excellent progressor of the ball either when dribbling or playing forward into dangerous areas.
His ability to drift past defensive players and then find passes into the penalty area is extremely reminiscent of Ziyech.
Calvin is a creative passer who finds angles to access the penalty area whenever the opportunity presents itself.
In the example above we see Stengs in possession wide on the right with two defenders close by.
One player is making a run towards the ball and this drags another defensive player out of position.
The AZ Alkmaar right-back is then able to make an inverted run into the penalty area.
Stengs plays the ball around the corner with the outside of his left foot to find the run of the fullback.
The Dutch younster is also an effective dribbler with his ability to beat defensive players when going either outside or inside.
Above, we see an example of this when Stengs takes possession with only one defender between him and the goal.
As the defensive player moves across to challenge for the ball, Stengs easily evades him as he cuts inside.
He then curls the ball into the far post.
Here again, we see how dangerous Calvin Stengs is when driving inside in possession of the ball.
This time, against Ajax, we see him taking possession of the ball outside before driving inside.
There are three players who drop back to try to close down space, but Stengs is confident in his own ability.
Calvin accesses the central space before getting a dangerous shot on goal.
Ryan Gravenberch Scout Report : The In-house Replacement
The third and final suggestion that we have in terms of a Hakim Ziyech replacement is a bit more of a stretch positionally, but wouldn’t force Ajax to spend money.
Ryan Gravenberch is only 17-years-old but represents De Godenzonen since he was 9-years-old.
The Dutch youngster is a regular fixture at Jong Ajax, the reserve Ajax team playing in Eerste Divisie.
He has been making the most out of this season and already started to make a genuine impact at first-team level.
Ryan Gravenberch Player Profile
Gravenberch plays most often as an ‘8’ in the centre of the midfield but can also perform the Hakim Ziyech’s role.
The 17-year-old prodigy carries the ball extremely well and regularly beats players in central areas.
He also has a real ability when progressing the ball forward and breaking lines with his passing.
Similar to Ziyech, we often see Gravenberch display the range and depth of his passing to access the runs of teammates.
We see an example of this above, with the Dutchman in possession centrally.
With opposition midfielders trying to close him down and a runner on the far side of the field, we see the ball moved accurately and quickly across the shoulder of the opposition fullback.
This pass allows the wide player to take possession and threaten the final third.
As well as having great range with his passing, Ryan Gravenberch is also very creative in tight spaces.
He often plays either one touch or even with a half-touch as he allows the ball to run before flicking it into the feet of a teammate.
Above is an example of Gravenberch’s creativity, as the young midfielder takes possession of the ball on the edge of the penalty area.
The 17-year-old allows the ball to run past him and then flicks it with his heel past the defender for the attacking player to have a strike on goal.
For a player so young, Ryan Gravenberch is extremely confident when carrying the ball and committing opponent players.
Here we see him collect the ball wide on the right-hand side with a group of defensive players between him and the penalty area and no immediate support from teammates.
In these circumstances, young players will look to play a difficult pass.
In this instance, however, Gravenberch slows the game down before quickly accelerating and moving past the defensive players into the highlighted space.
He then plays a superb pass across the face of the goal that nearly ends in an easy chance for a teammate.
Conclusion
For any side, in football, there are few more difficult tasks than replacing a key player.
Hakim Ziyech is such an effective component of this Ajax’s tactics that it is difficult to see how they can source a direct replacement.
Of the three players mentioned above, we believe that Calvin Stengs represents the most intelligent replacement although the cost to acquire the 21-year-old from AZ Alkmaar would be almost prohibitive.
Chelsea fans should be excited at the prospect of having a player with Hakim Ziyech’s skills joining the club in the near future.
