Something went wrong, please sample again belated. Do n’t miss a rumor, headline or public opinion from the Blues – sign up to the Chelsea newsletter for barren Thomas Tuchel could add to his Chelsea squad in the January transmit window, with the Blues missing a phone number of key players through wound. Chelsea ‘s squad has been depleted in late weeks, with Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Andreas Christensen and Thiago Silva all agony from injuries this season, whilst Covid continues to play a divisor in forcing a numeral of players to miss out excessively.

Borussia Monchengladbach recently announced that swiss midfielder Denis Zakaria will leave the german club following the death of his condense at the end of the season, with Chelsea tipped to make a move for the 25-year-old in January for a modest fee.

Zakaria ‘s versatility could prove to be an sympathetic proposition for Tuchel, who is companion with Bundesliga talent, as the 25-year-old can play as a defensive midfielder and slot into centre-back if needed. so, if Zakaria was to make a act to Chelsea in January, what kind of impact could he have on Thomas Tuchel ‘s side ? Could the swiss midfielder help Chelsea repeat their Champions League success from final temper ? To find out, we simulated the remainder of the season with Zakaria in the Chelsea police squad and this is what happened.

We ‘signed’ Denis Zakaria for Chelsea in January 2022

To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor program to arrange for Zakaria to join Chelsea at the begin of the approaching January 2022 transfer windowpane, using FM22 to run the pretense. This is how Zakaria ‘s in-game profile looks on FM22 .

Denis Zakaria's in-game profile on FM22.
Zakaria excels in his harness ability, exercise rate, teamwork and stamina rise that he can be a reliable holding midfielder that will work indefatigably to help the team by breaking up play and maintaining attacking moves. Zakaria has all-around technical attributes, specially in terms of excrete, vision and dribbling entail he will be able to fit in well alongside the likes of Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante and Jorginho. Let ‘s take a look at how Zakaria performed throughout the second gear half of the 2021/22 season after signing for Chelsea in January 2022 .

Zakaria's stats for Chelsea in the 2021/22 season.
Zakaria made a full of 25 appearances for Chelsea after signing in the January transfer window, registering five assists in all competitions. The swiss midfielder recorded an average pass completion rate of 91 %, showing Zakaria ‘s ability to retain monomania and participate in attacking build-up play. Under Tuchel, Zakaria was utilised as a box-to-box midfielder to help support the attack, with Kante used as the defensive-minded midfielder.

Zakaria ‘s average match military rank of 7.36 across all competitions ranked him as the sixth-best performer at the club, ahead of players like James, Jorginho and Werner. At the end of the 2021/22 season, Football Manager 2022 put in concert an overall best Chelsea XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what Chelsea ‘s best eleven looked like at the end of the 2021/22 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022 :

Chelsea's best XI at the end of the 2021/22 season.
Full Chelsea best eleven ( 5-2-2-1 ) : Mendy; James, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Chilwell; Kante, Zakaria; Havertz, Mount; Lukaku. Zakaria ‘s performances for the Blues saw him sport in the best eleven under Tuchel for the 2021/22 season, aboard N’Golo Kante in the defensive midfield positions. then, how did Chelsea perform in the league and cup competitions after signing Zakaria in the January transfer window ? Chelsea’s results from the 2021/22 simulation

Chelsea finished second in the Premier League at the end of the 2021/22 season.
The Blues finished moment in the Premier League at the end of the 2021/22 season, qualifying for the Champions League, but missed out on the championship ascribable to having a worse goal-difference compared to Jurgen Klopp ‘s Liverpool. The sign of Zakaria improved Chelsea ‘s league position by two places compared to their 2020/21 league campaign, with the Blues finishing with 17 points more and a better goal difference by +13 besides. then, how did Chelsea perform in the cup competitions ?

Chelsea's performances in the cup competitions.
Chelsea won the Carabao Cup, lifting their third piece of silverware under Thomas Tuchel after beating Liverpool 2-0 at Wembley. They were knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth cycle, however, after Che Adams scored twice to give Southampton a storm 2-0 gain at Stamford Bridge in a replay.

In the Champions League, Chelsea faced Juventus in the quarter-finals after besides playing them in the group stages, but were second gear best to the italian side on this affair as the Blues could not retain their Champions League style. overall, this simulation suggests that if Denis Zakaria were to sign for Chelsea in January, the swiss midfielder could have an shock for Tuchel ‘s side as he registered five assists and was utilised far up the field as a box-to-box midfielder alongside N’Golo Kante. Would you like to see Denis Zakaria sign for Chelsea? Let us know in the comments!