Denis Zakaria to join Chelsea on loan

Chelsea have reached an agreement to sign Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria on loan with an option to buy.

The Blues have been desperate to land a new holding midfielder and they recently made a move for Ajax's Edson Alvarez.

After being unsuccessful with their approach, they turned their attention to Zakaria. The Swiss will join them on an initial loan.

Chelsea have agreed to pay his entire wages at Juventus while they will have the option to buy him next summer for €30 million.

It will be interesting to see whether Zakaria can make an impact. The Blues are yearning for a quality back-up option to N'Golo Kante.

Kante has been a fantastic performer for the Blues over the years, but he has been hugely injury prone over the past two campaigns.

He is currently out with a hamstring injury for four weeks, and Zakaria should provide the much-needed depth in the Blues ranks.

Meanwhile, the arrival of Zakaria is set to coincide with the permanent exit of Billy Gilmour. He is expected to join Brighton today.