Holland legend calls for rule to limit first-team players at clubs after Hakim Ziyech’s “sad” Chelsea spell

Marco van Basten has called for a rule to limit first-team players at a club as Hakim Ziyech struggles for game time at Chelsea

Dutch legend Marco van Basten has called for a rule to limit the number of first-team players in a club and also called the time spent by Moroccan star Hakim Ziyech at Chelsea “sad”.

Ziyech joined the Blues in the summer of 2020 for £40 million from Ajax Amsterdam. Despite winning the Champions League in his first season, the Moroccan has struggled to establish himself in the team.

Now, former Ajax Amsterdam and Heerenveen manager Van Basten, while speaking to Ziggo Sport (The Sun) has termed the 29-year-old’s spell with the west London club as “sad” and criticised the Blues for stockpiling top talents.

“Someone like Ziyech would get to play all the time at another club, and the fans could enjoy watching him. It is sad and a shame that someone of his calibre gets to play so seldom.  Ziyech is a terrific player. A rule needs to come in that limits clubs to a certain number of players. Chelsea have far too many, and that makes football less interesting.”

Chelsea have a 25-member first-team players squad for this season. Three of the Blues players are out on loan. There is no hogging of any kind by the west London club as claimed by the Dutch legend.

As for Ziyech, the attacking midfielder has played 87 times for the club in all competitions, scoring 14 goals and assisting another 10 since his arrival two years ago.

Usually deployed as a winger, those numbers are not very great for either position, whether it be the midfield or the wing. Plus, there are also better players ahead of the 29-year-old at the club with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz above him in the pecking order.

To blame the west London club for destroying Ziyech’s career is not correct. The player himself could not contribute much whenever he had the chance and has now naturally fallen down the pecking order. With a new manager at the helm, the 29-year-old has a chance to reignite his Blues career once again.

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But so far it is not looking any good as the midfielder has only seen eight minutes of action since Graham Potter’s appointment in September. It remains to be seen if he can change this and become a regular.