Chelsea signed Ziyech last summer but the winger is yet to carve out a niche for himself in the squad and has made just eight starts in the Premier League thus far.
He played just 16 minutes of football in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night and Kieft admitted that the player needs to show patience and wait for his opportunities.
The former Dutch star pointed out at the moment he does not see how he could get a regular run in the Chelsea team under Thomas Tuchel.
Kieft said on SBS6: “He will have to compete as they play with [Mason] Mount or [Mateo] Kovacic in that spot.
“He is not going to play at the moment.
“He needs to be patient and lucky. The moment he starts playing again, he will have to get up and running.”
The Dutchman also pointed out that neither Timo Werner not Kai Havertz, the two new signings, has done much since joining Chelsea last summer as well.
He believes it is difficult for new signings to join Chelsea and make an instant impact as they have more options to play around with due to the strength of their squad.
“That Werner is having a really hard time. That expensive boy, Havertz, hasn’t done it yet.
“It is really hard in England, especially at Chelsea, because they have a big squad and they tend to change quickly.”
Ziyech started the season playing under Frank Lampard, but Tuchel is now the boss at Stamford Bridge.
