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Rabat – Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars recently declared that Moroccan football player Hakim Ziyech is free to leave in the summer. However, Ziyech’s contract has a release clause of £25 million.
Value increase
Ziyech, who moved to the Johan Cruyff Arena three years ago from FC Twente, proved his worth in the Eredivisie and the Champions League last season. The 26-year-old scored 21 goals with 18 assists across all competitions.
The Moroccan player won the club’s Player of the Year award for the second season running after helping his side win the domestic double.
Ziyech’s outstanding performances have attracted a number of Europe’s best clubs, including Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Arsenal, according to media reports.
Multiple teams interested
Dutch football journalist Marcel van der Kraan has revealed that the Moroccan is ready to quit Holland and try his luck in the Premier League.
Van der Kraan told the Spy Sports Transfer Window Podcast: “I know that the player is keen on a club like Arsenal, who have always played good football.
Manchester City also under Pep Guardiola plays a kind of Ajax style of football, as do Barcelona. But not all of these clubs will line up for him.”
Overmars said: “Many big clubs are buzzing around him. We promised Hakim [that we would] agree to a good transfer.”
In 2016, Ziyech signed for Ajax on a five-year deal, with a reported transfer fee of €11m.
Ziyech is now valued at £25 million, which is more than half of Arsenal’s £40 million summer transfer budget.
Van der Kraan said, “I think that if Arsenal did not have Mesut Ozil, they would have been the perfect club for him. But now, he has to choose between clubs in the Bundesliga, two or three clubs.”
“In Serie A, Roma has come back in for him after going for him last summer, while there are also one or two clubs in Spain who want him,” van der Kraan continued.
“But he is not that keen and Ajax are now aware that the best bit of business they may do this summer is to give him a new contract, rather than sign a new big-name attacker or midfielder,” van der Kraan added.
Sports journalists predict that Ajax will struggle to hold onto Ziyech for the long-term future. According to Jay Williams from The Boot Room, “he is worth a gamble for a top European club and Arsenal must make sure they win this race.”
