West Ham United
Premier League • England
West Ham make contact for shock signing of Chelsea cast-off as Fabrizio Romano reveals potential Rice replacement
Fabrizio Romano has revealed that West Ham United are one of the clubs looking at the signing of Denis Zakaria after his loan spell at Chelsea from Juventus.
Zakaria signed for Chelsea on loan last September, just seven months after he had joined Juventus from Borussia Monchengladbach. However, it was hard for the Switzerland international to make an impact in the Premier League.
By the end of his loan spell, he had managed to make just seven appearances in the Premier League and 11 overall for Chelsea. Only once did he complete 90 minutes for the Blues.
He did score once in the Champions League for them, in November when Graham Potter was in charge, but ultimately it was a season of uncertainty at Stamford Bridge and that won’t have helped Zakaria at all.
Therefore, Chelsea have decided against using their option to buy Zakaria, who will never get the chance to prove himself for Mauricio Pochettino. However, Juventus have no plans to reintegrate him either, according to Romano, despite his contract there being due to last until 2026.
Consequently, the 26-year-old is having to look for a new club again. Interestingly, the Italian reporter has revealed that West Ham are ‘interested’ in Zakaria.
In fact, they are said to have ‘asked for information’ about the ‘conditions of the deal’ that would allow them to take Zakaria from Juventus.
As things stand, though, they are just one of ‘many clubs in the race’ for the midfielder. It is not entirely clear if they are pursuing a permanent transfer or another loan deal.
West Ham need midfielders in case of Rice sale
News of West Ham’s interest in Zakaria has filtered through while they are receiving interest in their own midfielder, Declan Rice.
Arsenal have already been bidding for the Hammers’ captain and now Manchester City are joining in too. Either of them could offer Rice – a former Chelsea academy player, of course -involvement in the Champions League next season.
West Ham, who have qualified for the Europa League by winning the Conference League, will need to find a way to fill the void Rice would leave from their midfield if he is sold to the highest bidder as expected.
Zakaria can play as a holding midfielder or in a No. 8 role, which may enable him to cover some of the territories Rice has thrived in over the past six years.
West Ham’s other existing midfielders include Tomas Soucek, Lucas Paqueta and Flynn Downes. Therefore, it will be an area to invest in if they lose Rice.
After they beat Fiorentina in the Conference League final, chairman David Sullivan admitted it was likely that Rice had just played his last game for the club.