See Photos: Here is the man Graham Potter could drop Hakim Ziyech for and you will wonder why; His name is Vale.
Vale is looking to replace Chelsea superstar talent Hakim Ziyech and you might wonder why Graham Potter have decided to use Vale against Ziyech.
Ziyech could leave Chelsea though but then again, he hasn’t left yet, and here is what Potter said;
He said (via talkSPORT): “I think the reason he doesn’t play regularly is because he’s inconsistent. He set a good standard today and scored during the week, but he needs to be in line with it.
“To play in one of the big clubs, you have to play weekly and weekly, as talented as he is, but he doesn’t play regularly.”
Chelsea could only dream of an consistent Ziyech this season, however, as the fact is that the £100k-per-week winger has been consistently bad, and Potter must look to replace him in the summer. Especailly as his value nosedives with each week, having already dropped by £23.6m since signing.
Although Todd Boehly would no doubt be willing to spend millions on a replacement, Potter could find a new squad option in Harvey Vale, who has progressed into Chelsea’s first team through the academy.
The 19-year-old, who can play as both an attacking midfielder and a winger, has already made five appearances for the senior side and has caught the eye in the Premier League 2 this season, notching three goals and two assists in just nine appearances.
Although a loan spell at Hull City in the Championship didn’t go to plan, as he was limited to just three appearances, Vale is still highly rated at Chelsea and will no doubt be given a chance to impress Potter in pre-season.
Teammate Ruben Loftus-Cheek was full of praise for the academy graduate after his display in the 3-2 win against Luton Town last season.
He said: “He did really well, he held his own against some physical and strong players. He didn’t look out of place at all. Well done Harvey, I’m sure it felt natural to him. It looked very natural. Hopefully, he can kick on now.”
If Vale can live up to his potential at Stamford Bridge, there seems no reason why he couldn’t replace the wantaway Ziyech in Potter’s squad.