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."