Graham Potter gives verdict on whether Denis Zakaria will be a regular starter at Chelsea following excellent debut vs Dinamo Zagreb.

Denis Zakaria was on the score sheet for Chelsea and his winning goal helped the Blues seal their spot in the last 16.

Graham Potter has praised Denis Zakaria over his performance against Dinamo Zagreb. The midfielder who was yet to feature for the Blues since signing on deadline day in the just concluded transfer window was handed his debut against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday and he impressed with eye-catching tackles, sealing his performance with a goal.

Chelsea boss, Graham Potter has praised him, while revealing that the midfielder has the 'quality' to be a regular starter for Chelsea:

‘He’s been, as you can imagine, frustrated and disappointed when he doesn’t play,’ said Potter. ‘That’s the life of a player but he’s handled himself really well.

‘He’s kept himself fit, he’s trained really hard, supported the team and his teammates in a really good way. When you do that, you give yourself a chance to perform when your opportunity comes. So credit to him. Everyone was so happy for him and it was a great story for the whole group I think.’ Potter said per Metro.

On his performance at Stamford Bridge, Potter said: ‘I thought he did that well. He showed his quality, won the ball back, helped with our attacking play, and obviously to score is fantastic.

‘You can see the quality he has and we’ve seen it in training as well. He can strike a good ball so I think it was a nice goal for him and the team. It was an important goal for us so I’m happy he contributed to the team performance and for him to score was nice.’

Zakaria was replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek on 71 minutes with a knock, but Potter confirmed it will not keep him out of action per Metro:

‘He just got a kick. Just the contact. He was fine. No problems with him,’ said the manager.

The midfielder himself also confirmed he was fit to face Arsenal:

Denis Zakaria: “Can‘t tell you how happy I am about my debut & my first goal for @ChelseaFC! 💙🔥

Thank you so much for all the amazing support and your messages. And for everyone who’s asking - I‘m fine and ready for the next mission. 👊🏾”

[ via IG/DenisZakaria]

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