Chelsea loan signing Denis Zakaria’s situation “will be discussed soon”, with the Switzerland international failing to play a single minute of football so far in west London.
What’s the word?
That is according to the ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano, who has issued an update regarding the 25-year-old’s situation at Stamford Bridge.
Taking to Twitter, Romano said: “Denis Zakaria has not played a single minute with Chelsea, as of now. He’s in difficult position as Thomas Tuchel wanted him while Juventus had him in consideration…but with Graham Potter, 0 minutes and he’s not even on the bench. It will be discussed soon.”
A tough position
Having suffered a demise at Juventus and being left infuriated by the whole debacle in Turin, Zakaria took the plunge of moving on loan to the Premier League in a bid for his craft to be appreciated by then-Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel.
However, the German’s subsequent sacking and the appointment of Graham Potter has not benefitted the 25-year-old in any way, shape or form up to now. He is failing to make the bench for Premier League games and has not even been granted a bit-part appearance so far in any competition.
The Switzerland international clearly has the ability to make a valuable contribution whenever he plays. With an average of around 21.97 touches in the defensive third, from a total of 54.05 touches per game, Zakaria specialises in the defensive part of the game and would function well in a two-man midfield.
Given N’Golo Kante’s absence in the middle of the park, the Blues could majorly benefit from including someone like Zakaria into the first XI. However, with the tactically astute Potter not even granting him opportunities on the bench, you sense that there may be an underlying problem between the pair.
On the basis of the Swiss midfielder’s rapid demise at Juventus, there could be an attitude problem or a fitness issue with which Potter is unhappy. It seems strange that the Chelsea boss would reject the opportunity of utilising a player who excels in the transitional moments of the game, with his ability to nullify opposition counterattacks second to none, having averaged 2.15 interceptions per game over the past 12 months.
With the situation seemingly set to be discussed soon, we could either see a sudden emergence for Zakaria at Stamford Bridge, or a recall from Juventus as they weigh up whether to give him another chance or sell him on in the January transfer window.
Either way, it’s a tough time for Zakaria ahead of the World Cup, and it seems increasingly unlikely that Chelsea will exercise the £26m purchase option in his loan agreement.
