'I wasn't aware. It happened very quickly.'— New Chelsea star reveals he wasn't aware he would move to Chelsea.
• The new Chelsea star has revealed he wasn't aware of a possible move to West London until 6 hours to the close of the transfer window.
Denis Zakaria was Chelsea's loan signing on deadline day, and the defensive midfielder who is dubbed 'another N'Golo Kanté', has revealed he wasn't aware he would move to Chelsea until hours before the transfer window shut.
Zakaria had joined Juventus from Borussia Monchengladbach earlier this year in January, but had struggled to settle in with the Italian side.
The 25 year old has revealed he didn't know he would be changing clubs on September 1 but Chelsea came in late with a €3m loan deal, with option to buy for a further €28m plus €5m in add-ons.
The Swiss international told Blick: 'It all happened very quickly. I didn’t know a move to Chelsea was possible until six hours before the end of the transfer window.
'I packed my things and waited for the contracts to be signed. Then I did the medical check in Turin and it was through, it was very close,' says the midfielder.
Zakaria also revealed Tuchel was the primary reason he did not opt out of the loan move to Chelsea, and reiterated that he would nevertheless, work hard to impress new boss, Graham Potter:
'Thomas Tuchel was one of the reasons I went to Chelsea, he's a great coach,' Zakaria said. 'But now we haven't had much time with him, but that's football. Everything goes fast.
'I might have a new chance with the new coach, about whom I've heard a lot of good things. I will work a lot to get my place.'
Potter's intensity in training sessions is higher, Zakaria claims, noting: 'I want to show the best face I have.'
Zakaria also confirmed Liverpool's interest, but the Reds went with Arthur Melo instead.
'I heard that from my agent, but in the end it was Chelsea,' Zakaria said. 'I think I’ll be happier in England than in Turin.'
Denis struggled to perform under Allegri at Juventus. When asked to shed light on the possible reasons why, he said:
'It’s difficult to say what went wrong [at Juventus], maybe the style of football wasn’t suited to me,' the Swiss midfielder said. 'The team sat very deep, so I didn’t have much space. I’m a player who needs a lot of space for my runs. It might suit me better in England.
'Allegri is a good person, I can say that for sure. Maybe the team didn’t play that well, which is a shame, as with the talent in that squad, they can do much better.
Denis is yet to feature in a game for Chelsea since his arrival at the club. He plays as a box-to-box midfielder and can operate as a defensive midfielder as well but has not gotten minutes despite N'Golo Kanté's absence.
Hopefully, he impresses during the break and get some minutes under Graham Potter.

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