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Southampton: Three immediate alternatives to James Maddison

By Chris Hughes

IPSWICH, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: James Maddison of Norwich City looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Ipswich Town and Norwich City at Portman Road on October 22, 2017 in Ipswich, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
IPSWICH, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: James Maddison of Norwich City looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Ipswich Town and Norwich City at Portman Road on October 22, 2017 in Ipswich, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images) /
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AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – JANUARY 21: Hakim Ziyech of Ajax in action during the Dutch Eredivisie match between Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord at Amsterdam ArenA on January 21, 2018 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – JANUARY 21: Hakim Ziyech of Ajax in action during the Dutch Eredivisie match between Ajax Amsterdam and Feyenoord at Amsterdam ArenA on January 21, 2018 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images) /

Hakim Ziyech

Those who have followed this site since I took over will know that I’m a massive fan of Hakim Ziyech and have called for Southampton to look into signing the midfielder both in January and last summer too.

The playmaker enjoyed another great season at Ajax in the campaign just gone, and is currently representing Morocco at the World Cup, although his national side didn’t get off to the best of starts with a 1-0 loss to Iran.

Nonetheless, Ziyech owes it to himself to take the step up, having registered nine goals and a whopping 17 assists in the Dutch top division last season. In fact, Ziyech has been delivering the goods for the past three seasons in the Eredivisie, with the first of those three earning him a big-money move from Twente to Ajax.

Since joining the Amsterdam outfit, he has consistently been the best playmaker in the division and at 25 deserves to move to a more competitive league.

It’s unclear whether a move to a top, top team is smart though, and therefore a move to the Saints could be a great bit of business for all parties.