Roy Keane says underused Chelsea star is a “different player” at 2022 FIFA World Cup

Roy Keane claims Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech is a ‘different player’ in the World Cup

Speaking to Sky Bet (h/t Metro), Manchester United legend Roy Keane has claimed that out-of-favour Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech is looking like a ‘different player’ in the World Cup playing for Morocco.

Ziyech has had an excellent tournament in Qatar so far. He is one of the main reasons why Morocco are in the quarter-final of a World Cup for the first time in their history. They have taken the scalps of Belgium and Spain in the process.

The former Ajax winger, who arrived at Chelsea in 2020, has not had a great time in west London. He has remained on the fringes despite multiple changes in managers at the club. Injuries at times did not help his cause, but that is not the main reason behind the lack of minutes.

Here’s what Keane said about the 29-year-old and his performances in the World Cup (h/t Metro):

“Hakim Ziyech seems like a different player – it’s a different environment, sometimes players struggle at club level, but the World Cup and international football can suit other personalities better.

“Ziyech looks like a big personality for Morocco, and you don’t see that at club level for Chelsea.”

Keane is right about certain players benefitting from a higher stake environment to perform at their best. Moreover, after not getting picked at Chelsea, the change in the scenario to represent your nation in a World Cup must be an incredibly high motivating factor.

Ziyech has been linked away from the Blues in the last few weeks, with Serie A side AC Milan interested and Premier League giants Manchester United also in the race.

With what we have seen from the 29-year-old in Qatar and what we witnessed from him at Ajax, it just confirms the fact that he is still a fantastic player who just hasn’t got things going his way at Chelsea.

More Chelsea News:

• Arsenal and Chelsea are set to battle it out to sign Porto winger Pepe
• Chelsea and Arsenal hold key advantage in race to sign Portuguese star Joao Felix
• Inter have decided to sell Dutch international Denzel Dumfries with Chelsea interested

It is a bit of a shame because the Blues are struggling to create and score goals this season. We could have done with a player like Ziyech playing for us on the wing. He is good at the creation of chances, can score goals and is a good exponent of dead-ball delivery.