Denis Zakaria admits his agent informed him of interest from Liverpool before the Juventus loanee joined Premier League rivals Chelsea on deadline day, speaking to Swiss publication Blick.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was understandably left gobsmacked by the sudden departure of Thomas Tuchel earlier in September; the striker’s former Borussia Dortmund boss handed his P45 just days after he and Aubameyang joined forces once again at Stamford Bridge.
But spare a penny for Zakaria’s thoughts.
He, too, was convinced about the Chelsea project after holding talks with Tuchel. Now, the Switzerland international finds himself having to win over Graham Potter instead.
Did Liverpool nearly sign Denis Zakaria before he ended up at Chelsea?
“Thomas Tuchel was one of the reasons I went to Chelsea,” Zakaria explains. “He’s a great coach. We didn’t have much time with him, but that’s football. Everything moves fast.
“I might have a new chance with the new coach, about whom I’ve heard a lot of good things. I will work hard to get my place.
“(The deadline-day move) all happened very quickly. I didn’t know a move to Chelsea was possible until six hours before the end of the transfer window.”
Liverpool, like Chelsea, were in the market for midfield reinforcements on September 1st. And it seems that they too expressed an interest in Zakaria before opting instead for the 25-year-old’s former Juventus team-mate Arthur Melo.
“I heard that from my agent,” Zakaria says when asked about an approach from Liverpool. “But, in the end, it was Chelsea. And I think I’ll be happier in England than in Turin.”
“It’s difficult to say (what went wrong at Juventus). Maybe the style of football wasn’t mine. I’m a player who needs a lot of space for my runs. It might suit me better in England.”
Zakaria, who was left on the bench by Potter during last week’s 1-1 Champions League group-stage draw with Red Bull Salzburg at Stamford Bridge, has a £26 million option-to-buy clause in his Chelsea contract (The Standard).
Liverpool, meanwhile, are already preparing to make Jude Bellingham their record-signing in 2023.
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