Have Everton lost out on Ziyech?
Reports online today are claiming that Ajax star Hakim Ziyech has agreed a move to another club and although Everton were supposedly interested in him he will be going elsewhere.
Although Everton have been linked with him, Goal.com are saying Ziyech has a verbal agreement to join another club, Roma, who apparently have held talks with him.
You may remember that Ziyech is a player we highlighted earlier in the year as one for Everton to consider looking at. And given that the Blues have hired Marcel Brands, someone who should know him well, it might have been a logical move.
The Moroccan international has just come off a superb season in the Dutch top-flight as he netted 11 times in total and contributed 15 assists overall.
An attacking midfielder, he has a lot of strengths and rates especially highly in passing, dribbling, shooting from distance and taking set-pieces. He can also produce a quality final ball as his impressive number of assists indicate. And he is comfortable playing in several positions in midfield or up front.
Now having established himself as a top player in Holland, 25-year-old Ziyech is looking for a move to another country to prove himself in a stronger league.
If Everton were interested in him but he does join Roma that would represent another lost opportunity to acquire a talented young attacker.
Just recently James Maddison, with whom the Blues were persistently and strongly linked, didn’t end up moving to Goodison Park but instead went to Leicester City.
Perhaps Everton weren’t really looking at him but I have a feeling manager Marco Silva did want to sign the England Under-21 international.
So what is going on and are the Toffees in danger of losing out on all their main targets?
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Of course it’s quite probable, that the Blues never had any interest in Ziyech at all.
These stories are constantly circulating the internet as agents and clubs seek to boost their players value.
But there does seem to be a bit of a theme emerging as Everton seek to offload those players not in the plans of Brands and Silva before making any new signings.
At the same time the club are perhaps risking missing out on some important players that they really do want.
Next: Blues in battle for Celtic star
The latest alleged priority target is Celtic’s left-back Kieran Tierney. It’s been reported that the Blues are seriously interested in signing him. So we’ll see if Everton do get their man this time.