Graham Potter has insisted that on-loan midfielder Denis Zakaria is in the frame to start playing for Chelsea soon. This is despite the Switzerland international not having made a single appearance for the London side since joining from Juventus at the end of the summer transfer window.
Graham Potter Gives Cryptic Update on Denis Zakaria
Graham Potter on Denis Zakaria loan deal: “He's been really good, trained well, supported his teammates”. 🔵 #CFC @AbsoluteChelsea
“He’s disappointed not to play, like everybody is. He's in the frame, in the squad, available. We will wait and see”. pic.twitter.com/XzmjKOInjP
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 1, 2022
Potter Claims Zakaria Ready to Make Impact for Chelsea
Zakaria is tangled in a difficult situation at Stamford Bridge as he is yet to achieve any game time since the English manager took over after Thomas Tuchel’s dismissal. He’s seen the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher both get regularly picked over him, something that has also left some Chelsea fans surprised.
Giving an update on Zakaria’s mindset, Potter said: “He’s been really good, trained well, supported his teammates. He’s disappointed not to play, like everybody is. He’s in the frame, in the squad, available. We will wait and see.”
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The Swiss midfielder is yet to be assured of playing time and does not seem to be in Potter’s plans for the time being. His situation is eerily similar to that of Saul Niguez, who joined the Blues on loan last season, but got few minutes before being sent back to Atletico Madrid. However, at least the Spanish midfielder got some game time last season under Tuchel – which cannot be said of Zakaria so far.
Zakaria’s Chelsea Future Remains Unclear
The 25-year-old midfielder arrived at Stamford Bridge as a possible backup to Jorginho or N’Golo Kante in the deeper midfield role. But even with the French midfielder being ruled out for a long time, the Swiss international has failed to carve a role for himself in the team.
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Zakaria was a Thomas Tuchel signing and the German coach probably had plans to slowly insert him into the team, but all those plans went up in smoke after his surprising sacking. The 25-year-old midfielder, who described himself as an ‘octopus’ in midfield, could have to do something extraordinary in training or wait for a real injury crisis in midfield to start getting minutes under Potter.
