{"id":622088,"date":"2023-02-13T06:20:22","date_gmt":"2023-02-13T11:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=622088"},"modified":"2023-02-13T06:21:10","modified_gmt":"2023-02-13T11:21:10","slug":"future-denis-zakaria-chelsea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/02\/13\/future-denis-zakaria-chelsea\/","title":{"rendered":"Future of Chelsea\u2019s Midfield Powerhouse Still Yet to Be Decided &#8211; He\u2019d \u2018Love to Stay&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chelsea are yet to make a decision on the long-term future of midfielder Denis Zakaria, <a href=\"https:\/\/caughtoffside.substack.com\/p\/the-daily-briefing-chelseas-30m-signing\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to Fabrizio Romano<\/a>. The Swiss international, who joined the Blues from Juventus on a season-long loan with an option to buy during the summer, would \u201clove to stay,\u201d but there won\u2019t be a final verdict until May.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Denis Zakaria Hoping to Remain at Chelsea<\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8 EXCLUSIVE \ud83d\udea8<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FabrizioRomano?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@FabrizioRomano<\/a> reveals when Chelsea will decide Denis Zakaria&#39;s future and how much he&#39;d cost.<\/p>\n<p>Plus comment on those links with Jonathan Tah <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#CFC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Transfers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Transfers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Full story \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/caughtoffside\/status\/1624687798501384195?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 12, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>The Midfield Enforcer\u2019s Chelsea Journey So Far<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Zakaria initially struggled to find game time under Thomas Tuchel or Graham Potter and didn\u2019t make an appearance until November. The defensive midfielder scored on his debut during a 2-1 Champions League group stage victory over Dinamo Zagreb. He has only made eight appearances this season, but his size, athleticism and physicality has offered his team an added dimension in midfield.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/02\/11\/chelsea-player-ratings-vs-west-ham\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Thiago Silva Excellent &#8211; Chelsea Player Ratings vs West Ham<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 26-year-old injured his hamstring against Fulham on January 12 but has returned to first-team training and is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.football.london\/chelsea-fc\/news\/chelsea-injury-news-sterling-zakaria-26222177\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in contention to make the squad<\/a> for the Blues&#8217; European knockout fixture against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After Chelsea\u2019s underwhelming 1-1 draw with West Ham United, which means they\u2019ve only won two of their last 13 league matches, the return of the midfielder will be welcome news for Potter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Potential Solution to Chelsea\u2019s Precarious Midfield Situation<\/h3>\n<p><a id=\"Zu5UB_60SO5q27iUUNO6lA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1245923317\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'Zu5UB_60SO5q27iUUNO6lA',sig:'Y1mWOZNtjUrwYTqqKau6HU_Nu8p9WL9P1ftvT3q9Gto=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1245923317',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The futures of N&#8217;Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic remain uncertain. The World Cup-winning Frenchman\u2019s contract expires in 2023 and an extension is still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/sport\/football\/chelsea-fc-silva-kante-mount-contracts-b1058742.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">yet to be concluded<\/a>. Kovacic\u2019s deal runs until 2024 so the club may choose to cash in during the summer to avoid losing the Croatian as a free agent in 18 months.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/02\/10\/david-raya-attracting-interest-premier-league\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">\u2019Scramble for His Signature Expected in the Summer\u2019: Manchester United and Chelsea Target Rejects New Deal<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Romano revealed it would cost around \u00a326 million to make Stamford Bridge Zakaria\u2019s permanent home. A modest fee for a relatively young and talented midfielder could be an astute piece of business for Todd Boehly, that is if the Swiss international is viewed as the successor to either of these reliable performers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Juventus\u2019 Troubling Period<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Italian juggernaut faces a period of grave uncertainty after a deduction of 15 points due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skysports.com\/football\/news\/20876\/12791409\/juventus-serie-a-side-given-15-point-deduction-as-tottenhams-fabio-paratici-handed-30-month-ban-from-italian-football\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cfinancial irregularities and false accounting,\u201d<\/a> which leaves them floundering in mid-table. European qualification for next season is now hanging in the balance and a mass exodus could be on the horizon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2023\/02\/09\/chelsea-ben-chilwell-manchester-city-interest\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Fabrizio Romano: Premier League Rivals \u2018Appreciate\u2019 \u00a3190,000-Per-Week Chelsea Star Ahead of Possible Summer Move<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The terms of Zakaria\u2019s transfer would indicate that he is considered surplus to requirements in Turin. Chelsea could be the grateful beneficiaries of the turmoil in Italy if they secure the services of one of Switzerland\u2019s best players.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chelsea are yet to make a decision on the long-term future of midfielder Denis Zakaria, according to Fabrizio Romano. The Swiss international, who joined the Blues from Juventus on a season-long loan with an option to buy during the summer, would \u201clove to stay,\u201d but there won\u2019t be a final verdict until May.\u00a0 Denis Zakaria [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4415,"featured_media":622097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1362,3,7188,5],"tags":[8611,5016],"class_list":["post-622088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea","category-juventus","category-premier-league","category-rumours","category-serie-a","tag-chelsea-transfer-rumours","tag-denis-zakaria"],"modified_by":"Alex Richards, LWOF Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4415"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}