Tottenham looking to raid Ajax for Hakim Ziyech in January

Tottenham will likely lose for Ajax star Christian Eriksen this month, but ironically, Spurs may return to the Eredivisie club for his replacement.

Harry Kane‘s injury has left Tottenham short of striker options heading into 2020. The projected loss of Christian Eriksen will leave Spurs short in the attacking midfield as well. Interestingly, Jose Mourinho might choose to go back to the Eredivisie giants to bring in Hakim Ziyech as Eriksen’s replacement.

Ziyech is a bit of an unusual player at Ajax. The majority of the club’s most talented players are pried away from the squad at a very early age. Tottenham centre back Davinson Sanchez is a terrific example of this sort of transfer. He left the Dutch club for Tottenham before he approached his prime playing years.

At 26 years of age, Ziyech is squarely in his prime as a player. That means he doesn’t have the explosive growth potential that most clubs look for when they’re shopping at Ajax. On the flip side of the equation, there can be zero doubt that Ziyech has outgrown playing in Eredivisie.

He posts an outrageous Whoscored.com player rating average of 8.38 in his 17 league appearances on the season. The clever Moroccan’s six goals and 12 assists have gone a long way towards powering that excellent rating. There’s literally nothing left for him to prove at Ajax.

The officials at Ajax are quite aware of that. That’s why they’ve reportedly told him he can leave if they receive a transfer bid of £43 million for him this month. Tottenham are reportedly one of a handful of clubs interested in Ziyech at that price. He may not be the player that Spurs need at the moment, but it’s easy to envision a scenario where Mourinho judges him to be too much of a value to pass up.

Adding him in January would do a lot to support Tottenham’s depth all over their attacking midfield. Ziyech has the ability to play just behind the striker or on the right side. That means he’s not a like-for-like replacement for Eriksen, but he can help replace the creative spark he provides the Spurs’ midfield.

Expect Tottenham to be linked with a number of attacking midfielders this month, but Ziyech may be one of the most accomplished players linked with Spurs all winter.