Former loanee Denis Zakaria admits he suffered a lot during his time at Chelsea
Denis Zakaria opened up about his time at Chelsea and says he suffered a lot during his stint at Stamford Bridge, learning several things before leaving the club earlier this summer.
The midfielder was signed from Juventus on loan with an obligation to buy. But his lack of game time didn’t convince Chelsea enough to trigger that clause, and he eventually moved to AS Monaco.
The Swiss star was signed during a time when the club was in a transition period and many managers came and went, but he was unlucky not to be utilised under them. Injuries did not help hos case either as what was a promising signing eventually fell well short of expectations.
He barely played enough games, making only 11 appearances and scoring a goal. Despite a long-term injury to N’Golo Kante Zakaria, he still wasn’t trusted enough, and it was such a poor time for him here.
Graham Potter barely gave the 27-year-old sufficient minutes on the pitch, and during his recent interview, when he was asked about his time at Chelsea, the midfielder told RMC Sport:
I think in the end, it wasn’t easy, but it was the moment when I learned the most in my career. After a period like that, you learn that nothing is taken for granted and that you always have to work to be where you want to be. It made me think a lot. I try to work as best I can to live through this kind of period because, for a player, it is very, very complicated.
There was a lot of excitement surrounding Zakaria’s signing when Thomas Tuchel was the manager, but everything changed when he was abruptly fired and replaced by Graham Potter. It was unfortunate that Potter didn’t give Zakaria enough playing time, especially considering that the Swiss was available when Kante was hurt but was still neglected for the remainder of the season.
While the 27-year-old’s quality cannot be disputed, her was a poor fit to the chaos that engulfed Stamford Bridge last season. Whether he could have enjoyed better fortunes had the transfer occurred some other time is debatable.
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The team was in disarray as players were signed abruptly and numerous managers were hired and fired. Sometimes plans don’t work in your favour because the coach doesn’t use the players if they don’t fit the manager’s style, which might have been the case with the 27-year-old. However, considering other players’ ailments from the previous season, he ought to have received enough playing time.