Leeds United sold star man Raphinha for a whopping £55m during the summer after an impressive spell in Yorkshire and were linked with several possible replacements.
In the end, director of football Victor Orta managed to secure a deal for Luis Sinisterra from Feyenoord but as a natural left winger, he may not be the long-term heir that manager Jesse Marsch needs.
One player who could’ve been was Hakim Ziyech.
An outcast at Chelsea this season, the versatile Morocco attacker has excelled at the World Cup for the north African underdogs on their way to the quarter-finals.
Back in June, CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs revealed that the Whites were eyeing up the 29-year-old as a replacement for Raphinha. He told ‘The Done Deal’ show:
“Barcelona and Arsenal are the two leading clubs at the moment, but don’t be surprised if Chelsea advance their interest if they bring Hakim Ziyech into the equation, because my understanding, talking to Leeds sources, separate to Raphinha is that Ziyech has been a player on their radar.
“There might be a possibility to do some business with Raphinha going one way and Ziyech being given to Leeds, because Leeds don’t just want a chunk of money for Raphinha, they’d love a ready-made replacement and they see Ziyech as a viable option, and that will remain the case even if Raphinha goes elsewhere.”
It’s easy to see why Leeds viewed the former Ajax maestro in this light, seeing as he offers the same sort of flair and unpredictability as the Brazil international, something we have witnessed in Qatar over the last couple of weeks.
From his four outings – three group games and a last-16 win over Spain – the Blues man has scored once and registered two ratings of 7.4 or better, as per Sofascore. He has also notched more minutes at this tournament than he has in the Premier League all campaign.
Despite never really being the main man at Stamford Bridge, the Moroccan sensation has garnered pretty respectable returns in the final third, with 24 goal contributions across 92 appearances, which ends up being a goal or assist every 194 minutes (one every two games), via Transfermarkt.
Morocco boss Walid Regragui praised Ziyech as his own Neymar or Lionel Messi, telling reporters:
“He’s my little one. He could have given me right or wrong, but the people felt he had something to give. We must give him responsibilities and love. It’s like Neymar, [Kylian] Mbappe or Messi. He gives me everything on the field.”
Also previously lauded for being a “big player” and a “busy, technical creator”, it’s clear to see that Orta and co may have missed out on an absolutely perfect heir to Raphinha’s throne at Elland Road.
AND in other news, Orta “set to begin” talks with “dangerous” £35m Leeds “beast”, it’s great for Marsch…
