Chelsea to Hold Transfer Talks with Juventus for Denis Zakaria as Todd Boehly Eyes Discounted Deal

Chelsea to Hold Transfer Talks with Juventus for Denis Zakaria as Todd Boehly Eyes Discounted Deal

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Chelsea and Juventus may negotiate a fresh transfer cost for Denis Zakaria if the midfielder decides to make his loan move permanent.

The current fee is roughly £29 million, which is regarded as excessive given his minimal playing time this season. Juventus is apparently trying to sell certain players, so Chelsea may be able to negotiate a lesser sum.

According to the CIES Football Observatory, Zakaria is worth little more than £13 million, therefore a lower fee may be a decent deal for Chelsea. Zakaria, on the other hand, will need to perform well in the next months to secure a spot in the team before returning to Turin.

Denis Zakaria struggled to find a starting berth under Thomas Tuchel’s tenure, but under new coach Graham Potter, he saw greater playing time. Nevertheless, injuries plagued the midfielder during his loan term. Despite this, Zakaria has showed his ability at times when he has been given opportunities to play.

“Whenever Denis has played, he has never disappointed us,” Potter said in December. “He scored and demonstrated his quality in the Champions League versus Zagreb.” He’s had to practice patience.

“We had several fantastic midfield choices, and recall, we didn’t lose anything for the first few games, so it was difficult for him to gain that opportunity.” But he has remained professional and worked extremely hard, and that is why he was rewarded on Tuesday night with a good performance and contribution to a win.”

It remains to be seen which decision Chelsea will make about his future at the club, but there is plenty of room for debate on either side of whether he stays at Stamford Bridge or returns to Juventus in the summer.