Glenn Hoddle has shared what he spotted from Chelsea’s Denis Zakaria in the tunnel at Stamford Bridge this week.
Zakaria, who made his Chelsea debut on Wednesday, finally got an opportunity to show Blues supporters what he can do.
The 25-year-old midfielder has been sat on the bench throughout the entire season, which has been a surprise following his arrival on loan from Juventus.
However, he started and scored on Wednesday night in the 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
For certain, fans are now hoping to see much more from him looking ahead.
Denis Zakaria in the tunnel
Hoddle shared something intriguing he noticed from Zakaria pre-match before Chelsea’s win over Dinamo Zagreb.
He explained that he watched Chelsea’s central midfielder confidently individually embrace each teammate in the tunnel pre-match. His confidence definitely showed when he went on to the pitch.
“I liked his character and his demeanour on the pitch, it was his first game for Chelsea, and he looked as if he felt at home,” Hoddle told BT Sport.
When discussing Zakaria in the tunnel at the start of the match, Hoddle added: “He walked down the tunnel and went to all the players, and I looked at Rio [Ferdinand] and said, ‘Was that for show or was that for real?’ and the way he was on the pitch, that was for real.”
Zakaria may have been a forgotten man to Chelsea supporters, but don’t forget he’s been training every day as part of the first-team squad.
He’ll have been developing partnerships and friendships with his teammates.
Joe Cole thinks he’s now a player that’s well in contention to play more under Potter.
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