Since his surprise move to Chelsea on transfer deadline day at the end of August, Denis Zakaria has had to wait just over two months for his Chelsea debut with the competition in midfield preventing him from featuring.
The 25-year-old spent four and a half years in Germany playing for Borussia Monchengladbach before joining Juventus this past January but after struggling to make an impact in Italy, he was loaned to Chelsea by the Old Lady in the final hours of deadline day.
With Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho and Conor Gallagher all vying to be part of the midfield duo that has been deployed by both Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, Zakaria had not seen any minutes in a Chelsea shirt despite featuring in several matchday squads.
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But the Swiss international got his first opportunity to impress his new manager as he was named in the Blues starting 11 to face Dinamo Zagreb.
Speaking on Zakaria two weeks ago, Potter said: “No decision has been made. Denis has been training well, ready to help the team. There is no talk of anything. He’s an important member of the team, he’s been patient and waiting for his chance.”
Ahead of the fixture, Potter described what viewers could expect to see from Zakaria: "He's a big powerful boy who can break up attacks and also join the attack himself. He's been working hard behind the scenes supporting the team so it's nice to see him play tonight. Hopefully he'll do well and give us competition there."
Zakaria looked bright in the first half of the Champions League clash at Stamford Bridge and on his full debut for the club netted his first goal, expertly guiding Raheem Sterling's cross into the back of the net to put Chelsea in front.
Despite the competition Zakaria faces in midfield it's possible a glowing audition in the team could see him involved in the Premier League clash with Arsenal on Sunday.
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