Why Zakaria joined Chelsea

Chelsea summer signing Denis Zakaria has revealed former manager Thomas Tuchel was part of the reasons why he chose to move to Stamford Bridge.

Zakaria disclosed that he had the option to join Liverpool and not Chelsea on deadline day this summer.

The midfielder signed a deal with Chelsea from Juventus on loan, a move that was not expected since he had only moved to the Serie A giants in January.

“I heard that from my agent, but in the end, it was Chelsea,” Zakaria said, as quoted by Blick.

“It all happened very quickly. I did not know a move to Chelsea was possible until six hours before the end of the transfer window.

“I think I will be happier in England than in Turin. Difficult to say [what went wrong at Juventus.”

He added, “Maybe the style of football wasn’t mine. The team was a lot behind, and did not have that much space. I am a player who needs a lot of space for my runs. It might suit me better in England.

“Thomas Tuchel was one of the reasons I went to Chelsea, he is a great coach.

“But now we haven’t had much time with him, but that is football. Everything goes fast.

“I might have a new chance with the new coach [Graham Potter], about whom I have heard a lot of good things. I will work a lot to get my place.”