While his future at Stamford Bridge and England in general is undecided, Chelsea can sign Denis Zakaria due to a purchase option.
Following Graham Potter’s fairly flawless start to his Blues tenure, the Englishman must now prove his worth as the going gets tougher. Will he get going, or get running?! Defeat to Arsenal isn’t the end of the world, painful as it may be at the time and immediately afterwards. Yet I feel we must be patient with the players and manager.
Due to piling defensive injuries, the World Cup break is now viewed as ideal for CFC. Potter can regroup and reset the squad, and, most urgently, get back to the attacking drawing board. Intensity and swift movement are elements that help this group of athletes, therefore slow buildup and overthinking in front of goal needs to be addressed, and fast.
One area that would definitely benefit with altering is central midfield. Versus Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, loanee Denis Zakaria improved the aforementioned aspect of Chels’ play. The Swiss’ first start offered great involvement, backed up by statistics and a decent goal.
Zakaria arguably earned a start versus the Gunners, but wasn’t trusted by Potter. Nevertheless, the Blues have a purchase option to capture the Juventus ‘CM’ for ‘€20million, plus €4m in add-ons’, as recently reported by Fabrizio Romano.
Four Chelsea youth stars in contention for League Cup clash with Manchester City
On Wednesday, the west London side meet Man City in the Carabao Cup. According to Evening Standard, Graham Potter may have something up his sleeve. Four youth stars appear to have been promoted to the senior setup for the midweek Citizens contest. Academy goalkeeper Eddie Beach might not be among the substitutes, but could cover as backup whilst Kepa Arrizabalaga nurses his problem.
Meanwhile notable up-and-coming winger Omari Hutchinson could be back on the bench. While defender Bashir Humphreys and midfielder Lewis Hall have also been called up to the first team.
I don’t think any of the latter trio will start, but some of us are desperate to see Hutchinson on the pitch at some stage. Given his reputation and skill set, it is only a matter of time before he becomes involved, similarly to Carney Chukwuemeka.