There are growing questions regarding the future of Hakim Ziyech at Chelsea ahead of the January transfer window following the 28-year-old's omission from Thomas Tuchel's starting eleven against Burnley.
The Moroccan international, who swapped Amsterdam for west London in 2019 for a deal worth £33 million, was relegated to the bench for the clash against Sean Dyche's side.
Despite having netted the decisive goal midweek against Malmo in the Champions League, Ziyech found himself falling behind Ross Barkley and the returning Christian Pulisic in Tuchel's pecking order.
Chelsea's creative technician spearheaded the Blues to victory against Burnley just a year ago under Frank Lampard but a year later Ziyech finds himself scrambling in fear of becoming Marina Granovskaia's next January transfer window decision.
Daniel Childs and Jai Mcintosh spoke live on the Carefree Chelsea show to reflect on Ziyech's situation and Chelsea and how the Moroccan
Childs began the discussion by outlining how telling it was that Ziyech wasn't handed a start over Ross Barkley by Tuchel in the Blues 1-1 draw with Burnley.
"It is quite damning to Ziyech that he didn't start [against Burnley], nor feature," he said.
"The fact he scored against Malmo in the week - despite our criticisms of him - the fact he doesn't get in ahead of Barkley and [Christian] Pulisic comes on instead says a lot really."
"Am I reading too much into that? I think it is quite a damning statement really for a player. I can't honestly say that his absence was greatly felt."
Childs then added how Ziyech's absence boosted Chelsea's chances of winning by opening the door to Barkley's involvement alongside Havertz.
"Given Mount's issue with illness, I predicted that Ziyech would be in the starting eleven," he continued.
"I actually think it actually helped Chelsea that he wasn't because I don't think Ziyech and Havertz work well together.
"I think we saw when Chelsea had Barkley - a different type of player - in a more central midfield, number ten slash eight role driving from deep, it allowed Kai that room to move into areas he enjoys moving into.
"Ziyech - big question marks. Maybe there'll be questions about his future and what he needs to do to get into the first team."
Follow our Carefree Chelsea team Jake, Daniel and Jai on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
