(Borussia Monchengladbach)
The Gladbach powers-that-be are quite
rightly expecting a bumper pay day when
they sell their much-coveted midfield
anchor man. Tracked by a number of
leading clubs in England, the 23-year-old
has a market value of at least €50million- and if such a price were paid it would
make him the club’s most expensive
sale of all time, surpassing the €45m
that Arsenal spent on his fellow Swiss
international Granit Xhaka in 2017.
While most would have to agree that
Xhaka has hardly set North London
alight, the Geneva-born Zakaria is cut
from a decidedly different cloth. He is
much cooler under pressure, does not
have Xhaka’s defensive frailties and is a
better all-round footballer and athlete,
full of running, accurate in his passing
and a beast of a ball-winner. With his
all-action style and long limbs he looks
a new-millennium version of former
France and Gunners great Patrick Vieira.
Zakaria, who joined Gladbach from
Young Boys of Berne three years ago,
is the one individual the German side
cannot do without. In the absence of
the son of a South Sudanese mother
and Congolese father, the system put
together by coach Marco Rose would
simply fall apart. If you want power,
tempo and intense pressing, Zakaria is
your man. He provides the glue which
holds it all together.
One part of his armoury which often
goes unnoticed is his speed over the
ground. In-house tests at Gladbach
revealed him to be the quickest player in
the squad as he recorded an impressive
34.5km/h. Holding midfielders do not
normally leave a vapour trail in theirwake, but you need look no further for
the reason for his extraordinary powers
of recovery and his tremendous ability
to snuff out opposition counter-attacks.
According to Rose: “He is the complete
player and yet still has a lot of unfulfilledpotential. He has unbelievable dynamism
and understanding of the game.”
He has certainly come a long way in
a relatively short time-span. A mere five
years ago he was performing in the Swiss
second tier with Servette. Modest and(Lille)
Everton are one
of several English
sides hoping to
land the 22-year-
old centre-back.
He comes with a
highly affordable
€30m price tag,
though interested
Premier League
headhunters will
have to be aware
that PSG also
have him firmly
in their sights.(Bayern Munich)
Rumours of the
German national
keeper making a
switch to Chelsea
are not as far-
fetched as they
might seem. In
new contract
negotiations,
Bayern and their
skipper are poles
apart. He wants a
five-year deal, with
the club prepared
to offer two.MANUEL NEUER GABRIEL
DENIS ZAKARIA
MOST WANTED Premier League-bound
“He is the complete
player and yet still
has a lot of unfulfilled
potential”
Marco Rose