Hakim Ziyech has been left out of the Morocco squad for the African Cup of Nations. Whilst it gives Thomas Tuchel an extra attacking option, it could mean one extra man in the pecking order ahead of Callum Hudson-Odoi
By Anita Abayomi
This is a Public Chelsea Announcement, Hakim Ziyech will not be included in Morocco’s team to play in the African Cup of Nations.
If this comes as a surprise to you, it may be worth noting that our Chelsea forward had previously fallen out with his national manager. I anticipated his absence from the squad, however, I am still pretty disappointed as this could potentially hamper a big development opportunity for Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Chelsea’s best matches this season have involved Callum Hudson-Odoi, yet the young Englishman, more often than not, find himself on the bench. The numerous options in attack have seen him fall out of favour.
I find the entire Hakim Ziyech debacle quite humorous. Despite scoring 17 goals in 40 appearances for Morocco, he has not been chosen due to “his behaviour”. I guess I can thank Morocco boss Vahid Halilhodzic for gifting us an extra attacking option in January whilst we lose our goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy to Senegal.
Although we have been gifted with an extra attacking option, this will be yet another setback for Hudson-Odoi. His ability should not be rewarded solely through the absence of others but this seems to be the pattern.
Earlier in the season, Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku were both out with injury for a month, following their unfortunate sprains against Zenit St Petersburg. With further absences from Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount, Hudson-Odoi was the clear option to dominate the wing.
Though it took some time for Thomas Tuchel to trial the 21-year-old in his preferred position and CHO did not disappoint. He put his creativity on show and the Chelsea faithful got behind him on a weekly basis. It seemed absolutely unreasonable to leave him out after a string of impressive performances, however, a Ben Chilwell injury and Timo Werner’s return said otherwise.
As players return from injury and recover from Covid-19, Tuchel will be left with a plethora of attacking options once again. The Chelsea boss has a knack for chopping and changing forwards, hopefully, this time Hudson-Odoi will be at the forefront of his mind.
