Chelsea not keen to sign Denis Zakaria permanently in the summer
According to Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg (h/t Football.London), Chelsea are unwilling to sign Swiss international Denis Zakaria permanently in the coming summer window.
Chelsea signed Zakaria on a season-long loan deal from Juventus on the deadline day of last summer window. They have the option to buy him for £30m after the end of this season, but it seems like they won’t do it.
The Blues broke the British transfer record to sign Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez in January. They sold Jorginho to Arsenal on the same day. Mateo Kovacic is a subject of interest from Manchester City and AC Milan.
The report reveals that the club’s co-owner Todd Boehly is eyeing up a big-money move for West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice to bolster that department.
A few weeks ago, the Guardian reported that the England international will prefer a move to Arsenal in the summer. We have seen this movie before when Mykhaylo Mudryk was almost an Arsenal player before Chelsea chipped in and bought him.
Coming back to Zakaria, the Swiss international hasn’t had a regular run in the team. He struggled for any game time before the World Cup. And when he started playing well, the injury against Fulham in January pegged him back.
If Chelsea manage to sign Rice, then letting go of Zakaria won’t make much difference. But, if they do not sign the former and allow the latter to go, it would be naivety.
More Chelsea News:
- Wesley Fofana claims Chelsea star Mykhaylo Mudryk is quicker than Kylian Mbappe
- Todd Boehly steps down from Mason Mount contract negotiations at Chelsea
- Neymar has ‘no intention’ of leaving PSG amidst Chelsea interest
Mind you, the Blues need a striker in the summer as well, and players of that position cost a lot. So, maybe, just maybe, it won’t be a bad decision to sign Zakaria for £30m and expend the majority of the summer budget to sign a top striker.