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Chelsea's forgotten man 'in a negative circle' but backed to come good under Graham Potter
Chelsea boss Graham Potter has not utilised every player in his squad since his arrival from Brighton.
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Chelsea midfielder Denis Zakaria is stuck in a ‘negative circle’ according to the chief sports officer at BSC Young Boys but has been backed to turn his fortunes around. The Swiss international has become something of a forgotten man at Stamford Bridge since his arrival from Juventus on deadline day and is yet to make an appearance under Graham Potter.
Zakaria does not appear to be anywhere near Potter’s consideration having originally been signed by Thomas Tuchel. He is yet to see any match action since his arrival from Juventus having regularly been left on the bench by the former Brighton manager even when matches are essentially over.
Reports earlier this week suggested the Chelsea boss was purposely restricting his match action in order to make him easier to return early to Juventus in January. However, Christophe Spycher, chief sports officer at Young Boys has backed the 25-year-old to overcome this setback to become a fixture within Potter’s side.
Zakaria spent two years at the Swiss club before his move to Borussia Monchengladbach in 2017 so Spycher has had the benefit of monitoring the player first-hand.
“Denis is certainly unlucky,” he told 4-4-2. “He had a fantastic development in Gladbach, was one of the most dominant midfielders until his injury. This came at the worst possible time for him.”
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“Denis can push through, but he needs confidence and top form. He’s in a negative circle at the moment because he’s not getting any game time.
“He needs two or three games in which he can show himself. And then, of course, he has to perform.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Potter has responded to claims that he has enjoyed something of a ‘glow up’ since arriving at the club, with some fans claiming he now looks more handsome than he did at Brighton.
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"I don’t like seeing myself on telly, I get sweaty palms and I’d rather go to the dentist to be honest," Potter said in a news conference on Friday. "Apparently I've had a 'glow up'. Somebody said to me the other day I'd had a 'glow up' and I had no idea. Perhaps I'm growing into my face, [ageing] like a fine wine.
“I had a haircut from someone that cuts the lads' hair so that's probably made a bit of a difference, I don't know. How much was it? More than I thought it would be, let's put it that way!"
It remains to be seen how the rest of Zakaria’s time at Stamford Bridge will pan out but it is clear he faces a huge battle if he wants to turn around his fortunes in the short-term.
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