Done Deal: Forgotten Chelsea star returns to Italy for another loan spell

Davide Zappacosta joins Genoa on a season-long loan

As confirmed by the club’s official website, Chelsea defender Davide Zappacosta has joined Serie A outfit Genoa on loan for the 2020/21 season.

The 28-year-old Italian signed for the Blues in the summer of 2017 from Torino in a deal worth £23m. However, the full-back was never able to establish himself as a regular in the first-team at the Bridge.

Zappacosta, during his time at Chelsea, has made 52 appearances, scoring two goals and assisting four more. Having been sparingly used in the 2018/19 term, Zappacosta was loaned out to AS Roma last summer.

However, the 28-year-old failed to make the most of his time at the Italian capital club, making just nine appearances in the 2019/20 season.

Back at Chelsea, he was never going to break into Frank Lampard’s side as Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta are ahead of him in the pecking order.

James, after breaking into the senior team last year, has enjoyed the faith of the manager. He has, in fact, started ahead of Azpilicueta in our first two Premier League matches of the new season.

So, it makes sense for the club to send the Italian defender out on loan for another year – this time to Genoa, who finished 17th in Serie A in the previous campaign.

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Zappacosta still has two years left on his current contract with Chelsea. Ideally, it would have been best for the club to sell him permanently, considering the amount of spending Lampard has overseen this summer.

Nevertheless, the Italian international has moved on for another temporary spell away from the club. We wish him all the best!