Matz Sels has explained leaving Strasbourg for Nottingham Forest.
The Belgian goalkeeper's 8m move angered many Strasbourg fans, who blame the club's owners BlueCo, Chelsea's umbrella company. for the sale.
Sels told Le Parisien: In my head, I wasn't scheduled to leave in January. I was rather imagining a possible departure in the summer of 2024. Being transferred in the middle of the season is special. Difficult even, because we have to acclimatize ourselves in a fairly short time to a new team, to another environment.
"But a Premier League club, in my eyes the best championship in the world, offered me a 3 and a half year contract. This long-term challenge appealed to me.
"In our environment, we have to seize opportunities. The train doesn't always pass twice. You have to get on board.
'Above all, I wanted to leave Strasbourg in the right way."
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