Former Chelsea stars, Glenn Hoddle has praised midfielder, Denis Zakaria after the player’s impressive outing on his first appearance for the west London club.

Zakaria, who joined Chelsea on loan from Juventus in the summer, scored a goal as Graham Potter’s side defeated Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge.

Giving their verdicts on Zakaria’s display, Hoddle said the Swiss star is the perfect partner for Jorginho in Chelsea’s midfield.

Speaking on BT Sport after the match, Hoddle said, “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.”

“I think he was the perfect partner for Jorginho. While Jorginho provided a bit of experience in there next to him, he was getting around putting his foot in and to get a goal would’ve been a bonus.”

Style of play

Due to his characteristics and playing style has led Zakaria to be compared with former France international Patrick Vieira as well as Paul Pogba. Zakaria has been described as a midfield powerhouse due to his pace, strength, athleticism and aggressive playing style. He is also known for being a composed passer and for making surging forward runs from midfield. Primarily a defensive midfielder, he is also capable of playing as a central midfielder, in a holding role, or a box-to-box role, and has even played as a central defender.

International career

Zakaria played for various Swiss youth national teams. He could have represented either Switzerland, South Sudan or Congo at a senior level due to being born in Switzerland and having a South Sudanese father and a Congolese mother.

Zakaria made his debut for the senior Switzerland national team in a friendly 2–1 loss to Belgium on 28 May 2016. He was part of the squad for the 2016 European Championships. Zakaria was included in the 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

In May 2019, Zakaria played in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where his team finished fourth. He was named in the 26-man Swiss squad for the UEFA Euro 2020. On 2 July 2021, he scored an own goal in Switzerland’s quarter-final match against Spain, which they went on to lose on penalties.


Source:https://www.completesports.com/zakaria-can-form-perfect-partnership-with-jorginho-hoddle/