Chelsea
head coach Thomas Tuchel says Hakim Ziyech is still adapting to English
football but will play against Barnsley in the FA Cup fifth round on
Thursday.
Ziyech arrived at Stamford Bridge from Ajax for £33.3m last summer but was
forced to miss the start of this campaign after suffering a knee injury in
pre-season.
The 27-year-old midfielder showed glimpses of his quality before Frank
Lampard was sacked - scoring two goals and registering four assists in 17
games - but has made just one appearance since Tuchel took charge.
"Hopefully tomorrow we see the best of him," Tuchel said ahead of Chelsea's
trip to Oakwell. "He had a good training week and we count on Hakim like on
everybody else, there's absolutely no doubt about that.
"We took some decisions for other players, not against him but for other
players, and he will have the chance to show tomorrow the same quality he
shows in training, the same determination.
"For me, it's clear he needs to adapt to this kind of football, this kind of
league. He comes from the Dutch league, from a strong Ajax squad but they
were the benchmark in the league and it's not the same intensity and
competition as it is here, but he is adapting.
"He has the certain quality to decide matches and the certain quality to do
the unexpected which can give you an extra twist in any game and on a level
which he proved with Ajax. Of course, we want to push him to the same level
of performance that he showed there and this is our job."
'Winning FA Cup would be huge'
Tuchel will manage in the FA Cup for the first time when he takes his side
to Barnsley and insists he will do everything he can to win the trophy.
He recalled watching the competition as a youngster back home in Germany and
understands the history of a tournament Chelsea have won eight times.
"This would be huge, absolutely. The FA Cup is one of the most prestigious
cups in the world," he said.
"It's played at Wembley and even if you're a little boy in Germany with no
internet and no sports channels where you can watch every game like
nowadays, you know the words 'Wembley' and 'FA Cup' for sure.
"You know this is a big, big game to play and a big, big goal to achieve,
but you know me now very well or maybe better and better and the approach is
that tomorrow is the most important match of this cup campaign, because
tomorrow is a decisive match and an elimination match."
Chelsea travel to Barnsley in the FA Cup fifth round on Thursday before
hosting Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday Night Football, live on
Sky Sports from 7pm; kick-off 8pm.
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