Chelsea hero Gus Poyet said the Blues have got a quality signing in Hakim Ziyech but said he didn’t get the timing of the transfer.
On December 6, the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS) announced its decision to reduce Chelsea’s transfer ban from two transfer windows to just one window (BBC).
But it wasn’t until February 13 that Chelsea announced their first signing, Ziyech from Ajax, and the arrival would have to wait until this summer.
Poyet, like the majority of the fans, expected Chelsea to spend in the January transfer window after all the effort the club made to reduce the ban.
The former Uruguay international told Stats Perform (via Goal): “I didn’t understand – and I’m not criticising anyone – why Chelsea, after all that went on in the summer, not being able to sign players, get to January with the possibility of signing players, they didn’t, and then three days later, four days later, they announce they sign a player for next year. It’s not normal, okay?
“I’m not saying it’s bad, but I lost it a little bit because you complain a lot about not being able to buy, then you have the chance to buy and you don’t, and then when the transfer window is closed you announce that you bought one.
“Leaving that aside, I think they got the quality of a player the fans will enjoy watching.”
Poyet also believes there would be a period of adaptation but that, once Ziyech overcomes it, he would be a player that people would want to watch.
“Plenty of skill, technically gifted, can score goals, and he can produce things for the team,” he added.