Chelsea in danger to miss out signing of 24-year-old midfield destroyer
Chelsea and Manchester United will reportedly have to contend with Manchester City for the services of Denis Zakaria in the transfer window.
The Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder has a long list of admirers after some stellar performances with his club. Denis has just returned to action after a serious knee injury and it has alerted some of the biggest sides in the world.
It comes after a season last term where the 24-year-old helped Gladbach land a UCL spot in the Bundesliga. United are keen on the midfielder as they look for replacements for ageing Nemanja Matic.
The Serbian will turn 33 at the end of the campaign and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is looking for fresh blood to revitalise his base of midfield.
While at Chelsea, in spite of Frank Lampard’s heavy investment over the summer, a holding midfielder has long been eyed and the failure to sign Declan Rice has only increased this.
But the Citizens are also looking for reinforcements with Fernandinho on the wane and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano stated the Etihad outfit were keen on Zakaria.
Sky Sport Italia journalist said on his Here We Go podcast: “Manchester City are focusing on Zakaria.
“He is so appreciated by the board, they are following him, they are in contact with his agent. So he’s for sure on the list of Manchester City.
“There is nothing advanced yet because they are not negotiating yet with Borussia Monchengladbach, they need time.”
In the meantime, Inter Milan are interested in landing Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud in January on a short-term loan deal with an option to buy, according to Italian publication Tuttosport.