Chelsea: Let’s Meet the New Guy, His Name is Hakim Ziyech

Hakim Ziyech, Ajax (Photo by ANP Sport via Getty Images)
Hakim Ziyech, Ajax (Photo by ANP Sport via Getty Images)
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Hakim Ziyech agreed to join Chelsea back in February. His move will officially be completed on July 1st. But who exactly is Hakim Ziyech?

Hakim Ziyech is a Moroccan attacker who currently plays for Ajax and wears the number 22 jersey. He is 27-years-old and his hometown is Dronten, Netherlands. Ziyech stands at 5 foot 11 inches or 1.81 meters tall. He spent his youth years playing for Reaal Dronten, ASV Dronten, and Heerenveen from 2001 until 2012.

Hakim Ziyech made his senior debut for Heerenveen in 2012 and played his last match for them in 2014. In the summer of 2014, he transferred to FC Twente. Ziyech played his last match for them in 2016. In the summer of 2016, Ziyech joined Ajax and played his last match for them right before football was put on hold across the world. He will now join Chelsea on July 1st.

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Ziyech has represented both the Netherlands and Morocco on the international stage. His entire youth international career was spent with the Netherlands. The majority of his senior international career has been with Morocco. Ziyech made the decision to play for Morocco in 2015.

Heerenveen

In 2007, Hakim Ziyech joined the Heerenveen academy and played there until 2012. In August of that year, he made his senior debut for the club. Ziyech made his Eredivisie debut for the club only a week later.

The following season, Ziyech scored his first goal for Heerenveen exactly 1 year after his Eredivisie debut. This was Hakim Ziyech’s defining season as he regularly started scoring and assisting goals.

Twente

In the summer of 2014, Hakim Ziyech joined Twente on a 3-year contract. He also took the responsibility of wearing the number 10. The 2014/15 season was another good one for Ziyech. He continued to show out with his goalscoring skills and his incredible passing abilities.

The 2015/16 was quite eventful for the 27-year-old. He was named captain of the team at the beginning of the season but was eventually stripped of the position after he made rude comments towards the club and publicly requested a transfer. That season was Ziyech’s best to date recording 17 goals and 10 assists in the Eredivisie.