Denis Zakaria, who transferred to Chelsea on loan from Juventus on the day of the transfer deadline, was delayed in making his Blues debut by Graham Potter.
Denis Zakaria, a midfielder on loan from Chelsea, scored his team’s first goal against Dinamo Zagreb.
After joining Chelsea on loan from Juventus, Denis Zakaria never anticipated having to wait two months for his debut. However, the midfielder is now hopeful of breaking into Graham Potter’s starting lineup following an impressive debut performance last night against Dinamo Zagreb.
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On the day of the transfer deadline, Zakaria signed a season-long loan with Chelsea. To work alongside head coach Thomas Tuchel was one of the driving forces for his choice to move from Turin; however, that opportunity lasted just five days when the German parted company with the Blues due to a breakdown in his relationship with the club’s new administration.
As Zakaria revealed in an interview with football.london last month, Tuchel’s firing came as a shock, and he has had to wait it out under Graham Potter. Despite the demanding October schedule, the Switzerland international has made multiple matchday squads but has never been called up from the bench of substitutes.
Due to the likelihood that Zakaria would rejoin Juventus in January, there was discussion about whether or not he would play versus Zagreb. But Potter made the choice to start the 25-year-old in the middle of the field against the Croatian team, and he was rewarded with a strong performance from Zakaria.
The Swiss star played for 70 minutes and then calmly finished from the edge of the box to secure victory. Mason Mount had set him up for the shot. And following the triumph, Zakaria expressed his surprise at the length of time it had taken for him to debut for Chelsea.
For me, it was somewhat of a surprise, he said. “But, certainly, this was a decision made by a new coach. I must deal with it and work. I worked on myself in order to be prepared for this moment, and today I believe I was, therefore I am pleased with that.
“It is a wonderful feeling. This objective makes me really happy and proud, and I hope it won’t be the last. I sincerely hope I get to play more. But the coach will make that call. I will train as usual, do my best, and try to contribute if I have the chance to be on the field.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek came in for Zakaria with 20 seconds left in the game, and as he returned to the Chelsea dugout, the Chelsea fans gave him a standing ovation. The midfielder relished the moment. He exclaimed, “Amazing, the fans are pretty good and amazing fans so I am really thrilled.”
“Since I haven’t played in a while, my body is a little bit tired and has some cramps. I received a kick after that, which is why I left early.”