World Cup Talent Scout: Hakim Ziyech

The 25-year-old arrived at the World Cup on the back of another stellar year in Dutch football, where he was named Dutch Footballer of the Year.

The former Twente man can play anywhere across the frontline, and has an impressive nine goals in 19 games for the national team. Add into the mix his ability to get an assist - he has provided the most in the Eredivisie for the past two seasons - and Ziyech could have a standout World Cup.

Strengths: Hakim Ziyech has, in his club career, provided 66 assists in 179 appearances. An absolutely phenomenal return. He is a technical player of the highest calibre, whose passing is unsurpassed in the Eredivisie. But also has a goal return that is not to be sniffed at, with 59 goals, at a rate of one in every three matches - impressive, particularly considering he usually operates in central midfield.

Weaknesses: His positional discipline can sometimes be suspect, allowing for opposing teams to overload in his area.

He was very neat and tidy but his interventions were on the periphery of the game. He drifted into central areas but was unable to influence the game in the same way he does for Ajax. His delivery from set-piece situations were as excellent as ever. However, despite Morocco having lost their opening two games of the tournament, Ziyech will emerge from Russia 2018 with his reputation enhanced.

AS Roma. Liverpool are pretty stacked in the areas he operates in, so he might find playing time hard to come by. Also, with Roma reportedly set to offload Radja Nainggolan, a spot in the first eleven looks set to become available. Obviously, Ziyech would not be a like-for-like replacement but he would represent a signing of some quality.