Chelsea grabs Juve midfielder Zakaria on loan

Chelsea have signed Denis Zakaria on loan from Juventus, with the Blues having an option to buy the midfielder at the end of the move.

Zakaria had a medical in Turin on Thursday evening, with the deal being confirmed in the early hours of Friday morning.

On switching to Stamford Bridge, Zakaria told the club’s official website: “I want to say hi to all the Chelsea fans. I’m very happy and proud to be a Blue and I cannot wait to see you soon at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly added: “Denis is a talented midfielder with lots of quality and skill. He will add depth and range to our squad this season, and we are looking forward to watching him play in Chelsea blue.”

Chelsea submitted a £43m bid for Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez this week but Ajax wanted to keep the midfielder after selling Antony to Manchester United on the morning of Deadline Day.

Zakaria only joined Juventus from Borussia Monchengladbach in January and has made 11 appearances for the Serie A club.

The Swiss international has made just two appearances in four Italian top-flight matches so far this season.

Chelsea have also signed former Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona with Marcos Alonso going the other way.

Aubameyang flew to the UK on Thursday afternoon for his medical and to finalise the deal, which was completed after the 11pm deadline but Chelsea filed the deal sheet to allow more time.

Aubameyang suffered a minor fracture of his jaw in an attack on his home over the weekend. The Gabon forward, who is expected to be out of action for three weeks, can resume non-contact training next week.