Denis Zakaria never expected a two-month wait to make his Chelsea debut after joining the club on loan from Juventus – but the midfielder is now hopeful of establishing himself in Graham Potter's side after an impressive maiden outing against Dinamo Zagreb last night.
Zakaria joined Chelsea on a season-long loan on transfer deadline day. A motivating factor in his decision to relocate from Turin was to work under head coach Thomas Tuchel, an experience that lasted just five days before the German parted ways with the Blues after a breakdown in his relationship with the club's new hierarchy.
Tuchel's dismissal was a shock to Zakaria – as he admitted in an interview with football.london last month – and he has had to remain patient under Graham Potter. The Switzerland international has made several matchday squads but was never introduced from the substitutes' bench despite the punishing October schedule.
