Manchester City have become the latest club to show interest in Borussia Monchengladbach defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Zakaria joined Borussia Monchengladbach from Young Boys for a reported €10m in June 2017. Since then, he has become one of the most sought after midfielders in the Bundesliga, featuring 100 times in the last three seasons in all competitions.
The Switzerland international has only recently returned from a long-term knee injury which has kept him out of contention since March, making just one start this season.
The 24-year-old has attracted a lot of attention from a number of the world’s top clubs, with Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Chelsea all linked. Man City have now entered the race for the Swiss midfielder, as reported by Fabrizio Romano on his podcast.
Romano said, as quoted by the Daily Star: “Manchester City are focusing on Zakaria. He is so appreciated by the board, they are following him, they are in contact with his agent.”
If Zakaria was to make the switch to the Etihad, he might find regular minutes hard to come by. Manager Pep Guardiola tends to only play with one defensive midfielder, and he already owns Fernandinho and Rodri. However, Fernandinho is 35 years old now, and Guardiola tends to rotate his starting XI often, so he should get his opportunity.
Bitter rivals Manchester United are also reportedly in the running for the midfielder, as they look for an upgrade on Scott McTominay and the ageing Nemanja Matic. Meanwhile, any potential move to Chelsea could depend on their pursuit of West Ham United man Declan Rice, who the Blues were after in the summer.
At Bayern Munich, an injury to Joshua Kimmich has left Hansi Flick short of defensive midfield options. Nonetheless, they remain at the top of the Bundesliga and in the round of 16 in the Champions League.
