West Ham United remain in talks to bring former Chelsea loanee Denis Zakaria to London Stadium in the summer transfer window.
According to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, Zakaria and West Ham still remain locked in negotiations, but the Swiss midfielder wants to take some time to ‘reflect’ before agreeing to the Hammers’ proposal.
The current Juventus midfielder joined Chelsea on loan last summer but failed to really make any sort of impact at Stamford Bridge.
With three different managers in West London, it turned out to be hard for the midfielder to adapt to the Premier League without consistency at the helm.
Move to West Ham represents a second chance for Denis Zakaria
If West Ham were able to pull off the signing of the former Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder, then this would represent a real coup for David Moyes’s side.
The midfielder will certainly have something to prove in England, following his dismal loan spell at Stamford Bridge, and Moyes has a history of being able to get the best out of players who may have been unfancied at previous clubs.
Former Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard is a prime example of that.
With Declan Rice now set to join Arsenal from West Ham, Zakaria would represent a good addition to the Hammers midfield, alongside Edson Alvarez, who is reportedly of interest to West Ham.
Alvarez and Zakaria would add defensive steel and tenacity to the midfield thattThe Hammers desperately need following Rice’s departure.
The midfielder’s injury record may be an issue, however, with Zakaria making just seven Premier League appearances for Chelsea, who were unimpressed with the 26-year-old’s performances and didn’t take up the £26 million option in his loan deal.
The hope will be that West Ham will be able to purchase the midfielder for a relatively low fee, which means the risk with the player’s injury record won’t be as pronounced.
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