Scottish champions Celtic reportedly missed out on World Cup star Hakim Ziyech in the not-too-distant past, with the Moroccan international currently thriving as part of his country’s remarkable surge to the quarter-final stage in Qatar.
Reports back in January 2016 suggested that the Parkhead giants were one of the clubs to have been scouting the playmaker during his time at Eredivisie outfit FC Twente, with the emerging talent attracting attention from teams across Europe.
As it proved, the Netherlands-born gem ultimately opted to stay put in the country and subsequently went on to join Dutch giants Ajax later that year, having racked up a stunning haul of 34 goals and 30 assists in 76 games during his spell at his former club.
That move to Amsterdam also proved particularly profitable as the 5 foot 11 wizard went on to provide 130 goal involvements in just 165 games in all competitions, memorably forming part of the side that reached the last four of the Champions League back in 2019 under Erik ten Hag.
Something of a “phenom” – according to journalist Muhammad Butt – the one-time Heerenveen ace went on to join Premier League giants Chelsea in the summer of 2020, albeit with that move to Stamford Bridge having arguably failed to work out, with the £100k-per-week man scoring just 14 goals and providing only ten assists in 92 games to date.
Nevertheless, the 47-cap sensation has gone on to showcase his quality on the world stage in recent weeks in Qatar, having had a truly “standout World Cup” so far in the words of CBS reporter Ben Jacobs.
The fleet-footed menace has started all four games for the African nation at the tournament so far, proving a typically ruthless presence in the final third having scored one goal and laid on one assist in that time.
That solitary strike came during the final group game against Canada as Morocco sealed their place in top spot, with the Blues ace producing a delightful dink from range to catch out opposition stopper Milan Borjan.
Such a moment of genius has epitomised Ziyech’s form at the tournament thus far, having also averaged 1.8 dribbles per game, while proving himself willing to put in the hard yards defensively after also averaging 2.0 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game.
Having at one stage been out of the international reckoning for almost 15 months following a row with former boss Vahid Halilhodzic, the 29-year-old is now a leading figure as Walid Regragui’s men look to become the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final, should they beat Portugal on Saturday.
As such, it may well be a real source of frustration for the Glasgow side to see the player flourishing at the elite level, having previously been tracking progress before he truly announced himself in the game.