Chelsea loanee Zakaria wanted back at former club as Swiss star struggles for game time with Blues

• Moved to England on season-long deal
• Still contracted to Juventus
• Held in high regard by German giants

WHAT HAPPENED? That is according to sporting director of the German giants, Roland Virkus, who has left a door open for the Switzerland international midfielder to retrace his steps to Germany. Zakaria is due to spend the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign at Stamford Bridge, having completed a switch from Juventus over the summer, but questions are being asked of his long-term future after seeing just one appearance for the Blues.

WHAT THEY SAID: Virkus has said when asked about the 25-year-old, who spent four-and-a-half years with Gladbach prior to joining Juve in January 2022: “Of course, we would like to have Zakaria back here. A player like that, who can fix a lot of situations with his pace, would always help.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Zakaria did open his goal account for Chelsea in his only appearance to date, helping them to a 2-1 Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb, but is yet to play a single minute of Premier League football.

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WHAT NEXT FOR ZAKARIA? Chelsea will be in Carabao Cup third round action against Manchester City on Wednesday, before then heading to Newcastle for their final pre-World Cup fixture on Saturday.