Johan Djourou believes Swiss midfielder Denis Zakaria’s lack of action at Chelsea will have affected his mental health.
Zakaria made a surprise loan move to Chelsea on transfer deadline day from Juventus but, after the dismissal of Thomas Tuchelthe 25-year-old has struggled to gain playing time under new Blues boss Graham Potter.
Zakaria could be important for Switzerland, but he lacks match preparation
Zakaria hasn’t spent much time on the pitch at Chelsea
The Swiss international made his long-awaited Chelsea debut against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League earlier this month and impressed, scoring his first goal for the club in a 2-1 win.
He also played for Chelsea in their 2-0 loss to Man City in the Carabao Cup a week later, but has yet to appear in the Premier League under Potter.
Despite that, Zakaria has been named in Switzerland’s squad for the World Cup along with Arsenal midfielder Granit XhakaManchester City defender Manuel Akanji and former Liverpool and Stoke City striker Xherdan Shaqiri.
Former Arsenal defender Djourou previously played alongside Zakaria for Switzerland and believes the midfielder could make an impact. during the world cupif given the chance.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, Djourou said: “I think Denis has a lot of quality. He is a player with a great personality as well. [He’s] maybe a little shy and that’s why maybe he’s having a hard time because you have to have some personality to go against it because I think that in training you won’t have any problem for him to show up and give his best.
“But maybe having a chat and asking questions about why he hasn’t had more time and just having that conversation, maybe that’s just not in his personality. He doesn’t speak the language very well at the moment.
Djourou is concerned about Zakaria’s mental health
“He has a lot of quality, but when you don’t play a lot, because he hasn’t played a minute in the league, for example, but he has played a Champions League game and a Carabao Cup game, that affects you a bit. You got it in your head and your mind [health] It is not the best
“I don’t think he’s at his best mentally right now, but I hope he gets over it and comes back stronger.
“Hopefully the World Cup could help him. I don’t think he’s going to start for Switzerland, but when he comes in, he can make an impact for sure.”
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