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Leicester and Chelsea are chasing the next Riyad Mahrez

By Rucker Haringey

Hakim Ziyech of FC Twente during the Dutch Eredivisie match between FC Twente and De Graafschap at the Grolsch Veste on December 12, 2015 in Enschede, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
Hakim Ziyech of FC Twente during the Dutch Eredivisie match between FC Twente and De Graafschap at the Grolsch Veste on December 12, 2015 in Enschede, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images) /
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Chelsea and Leicester are hot on the trail of FC Twente midfielder Hakim Ziyech

Riyad Mahrez’s success for Leicester have caused Premier League scouts to cast a wider net when searching for the next unheralded star. Could FC Twente midfielder Hakim Ziyech be the next player to take the league by storm?

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Goal.com reports that Leicester, Chelsea, and a host of other teams around the world are interested in Ziyech. The creative attacking midfielder has been in excellent form for Twente this season.

He’s scored 12 goals and provided eight assists in just 22 Eredivisie appearances this season. Those statistics have powered him to an impressive, and team leading Whoscored.com rating of 7.68. He’s been the one bright spot for a team struggling mightily to stay out of the bottom of the league table.

While the Eredivisie isn’t entirely new ground for Premier League clubs, most of the purchases come from the league’s elite like Ajax. Spending a lot of time scouting one of the league’s struggling teams represents something new for Premier League clubs.

The recent success of unheralded players like Mahrez has undoubtedly contributed to this change. Premier League clubs are on high alert that world-class players can be found in a number of leagues and on a number of clubs. More attention is being paid to teams that previously wouldn’t have seen a Premier League scout unless they were playing in a high profile Europa League tie.

Ziyech is a prospect that fits the bill of what league scouts are looking for perfectly. That’s why the likes of Chelsea and Leicester have taken a keen interest in him. I’d suspect they won’t be the only EPL teams bidding for him in the summer either.

Like Mahrez, Ziyech is an attacking player who is capable of hurting the opposition with a shot or a pass. Also like the Foxes star, he hasn’t shown a real proclivity to contribute to his club’s defensive efforts. Any large club that purchases him will have to work with him on that aspect of his game.

Still, his prodigious offensive talent is reason enough to make a strong bid for his services. There just aren’t many players in the world who’ve shown an ability  to contribute so much despite being the focus of every opposing defense. Ziyech has proven he can be a one man show for Twente.

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Expect to see a much wider group of clubs sending players to the Premier League in the summer. Everyone is going to be out to replicate what Leicester have done with relatively unknown players. FC Twente star Hakim Ziyech might be one star of many that arrives in the Premier League this summer.

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