Chelsea may have finally got the midfielder they've been looking for on transfer deadline day, with the Blues agreeing a deal for Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria.
Chelsea have been left with limited options in midfield at the start of this season, with N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic yet to feature for Thomas Tuchel's side. In a bid to improve their squad depth, the Blues have delved into the transfer market again, agreeing a late deal with Juventus for Zakaria.
The deal has almost come out of nowhere, with the Switzerland international having only moved to Italy in the January transfer window. football.london understands that Zakaria is set to sign on a season-long loan with an option to buy next summer.
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So, how could Zakaria help the Blues this season? Can the 25-year-old become a regular under Tuchel, or will it be another Saul Niguez situation? To find out, we simulated this season with Zakaria in the Chelsea squad, and this is what happened.
We 'signed' Denis Zakaria for Chelsea on transfer deadline day
To run this simulation, we used the in-game editor for Football Manager 2022 to transfer Zakaria to Chelsea on transfer deadline day. We also updated the Blues squad with all the latest changes to try and get the most accurate results possible.
After being thrown straight into the starting XI in the early fixtures, Zakaria was quickly phased out of the starting side by Tuchel, becoming more of a squad player for the final two-thirds of the season. He only made 11 starts and a further 25 appearances off the bench, with the defensive midfielder mostly being used to see out games late on.
In those 36 appearances, Zakaria managed one assist and averaged a poor rating of 6.74 per game - the lowest in the entire Chelsea squad. And, when compared to the rest of the Chelsea midfielders, it wasn't pleasant viewing for the Switzerland international.
Zakaria ranked the worst out of the Chelsea midfield in every category. The 25-year-old played the least games, failed to score, registered the least assists, won no player of the match awards and was the only player to register a rating lower than seven.
At the end of the season, FM22 released the Best XI from the Chelsea squad, using player statistics, league data and other measures to complete the team. Here's Chelsea's Best XI for the 2022/23 season, according to our simulation.
Full Chelsea Best XI (5-2-2-1): Mendy; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Koulibaly, Cucurella; Kante, Kovacic; Havertz, Mount; Sterling.
Zakaria didn't make the Chelsea best XI, with N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic the chosen pair in midfield. Conor Gallagher and Jorginho missed out, whilst new singings Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella and Raheem Sterling all made the squad.
Chelsea's 2022/23 season overall with Zakaria
The Blues really picked up form around October time in the Premier League and surged back towards the top of the league, ultimately seeing Chelsea finish third in the table. Despite finishing nine behind champions Man City, they still earned an impressive 85 points.
The 85 points were just one less than second-placed Liverpool and one more than fourth-placed Arsenal in an extremely close league table. Interestingly, despite the majority of investment being defensive, the Blues ended the season as the second top scorers in the league but with the worst defence in the top six.
Despite coming close to the league title, Chelsea were unable to replicate their good form in the cup competitions. The furthest they got was the semi-final of the Champions League, whilst they only reached the fourth round of both domestic cup competitions.
After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Chelsea lost 1-0 to Barcelona in the second as they were denied a spot in the Champions League final. A 2-1 loss to Spurs eliminated the Blues in the FA Cup fourth round, whilst a shock 2-1 defeat to Southampton ended their Carabao Cup journey at the same stage.
Overall, FM22 predicts that Zakaria could really struggle for game time at Chelsea if everyone is fit, with the midfielder falling to the bottom of Tuchel's pecking order and not making most of his appearances from the bench. But, his arrival saw the Blues improve their points tally in the Premier League and sustain a strong Champions League run, showing that his arrival could give Tuchel the depth he needs to rotate his squad and keep his players fresh.
How do you think Zakaria could perform for Chelsea next season? Let us know in the comments.
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