Chelsea loanee will be available for permanent deal this summer

Chelsea will be looking for just their third win in 17 matches when they face Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. 

The Blues have been in dismal form of late and currently sit tenth in the Premier League table, while their opponents occupy 20th place and have lost nine of their last ten matches in the league.

Blues boss Graham Potter will have been encouraged by his side’s performance against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday, although they did ultimately slump to a 1-0 defeat in Germany.

With that in mind, the ex-Brighton boss will have several difficult decisions to make when selecting his team to face The Saints.

One player that could be involved having recently returned from injury is Denis Zakaria, and it appears that the midfielder could stay put in London beyond the expiry of his loan deal.

According to The Evening Standard, Juventus are prepared to sell the Switzerland international this summer.

Zakaria, 26, joined Chelsea on loan from the Serie A side last summer and has impressed when given the opportunity so far this term.

Chelsea could exercise an option-to-buy clause to land Zakaria this summer

The ex-Borussia Monchengladbach man scored his first goal for The Blues during a 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League back in November, but has been sidelined since the middle of January due to a hamstring injury.

Despite that, it appears that he has impressed those in charge of the club during his seven appearances for the club, as the London side are considering a permanent move for the player, it is claimed.

Chelsea paid £500,000 to sign the midfielder on loan this term, and the deal included an option-to-buy clause which is believed to be around £27 million.

Chelsea landed Enzo Fernandez for a Premier League record £106 million last month, but The Blues are still believed to be in the market for at least one midfielder this summer.

Jorginho departed the club, while the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Conor Gallagher have also been linked with moves away from the club.

N’Golo Kante, who has missed the majority of this season due to injury, is also set to be out of contract at the end of the current campaign.