CHELSEA’S new manager Mauricio Pochettino has begun his summer clear-out with Denis Zakaria and Dujon Sterling leaving Stamford Bridge.
Zakaria joined the Blues on loan from Juventus last summer but failed to stand out with only one goal in 11 appearances under his belt.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the midfielder will return to Juve and “assess his options”.
Romano tweeted: “Mauricio Pochettino has decided also on Denis Zakaria:
“Swiss midfielder’s set to leave Chelsea in June, he’s not part of the plans.
“Chelsea will not trigger the buy option clause, Zakaria will return at Juventus and then will assess his options.”
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Sterling, on the other hand, has joined Rangers after a agreeing a four-year deal with the Scottish giants.
The 23-year-old started his career at Chelsea’s academy at the age of eight.
The right-back earned a senior call-up in 2017 and amassed two appearances with the first team.
The former England youth international was also sent out on loan at Coventry, Wigan, Blackpool and Stoke.
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Pochettino, though, has a lot more work to do after a disastrous campaign that saw Chelsea finishing 12th with their worst ever Premier League points tally.
The Argentinean tactician comes in as the West Londoners’ fourth manager in the last 12 months.
Chelsea started out with Thomas Tuchel last season before his dismissal led to Graham Potter taking over the helm.
However, a raft of poor results saw Potter also getting the axe with Bruno Saltor taking over in an interim capacity that was cut short by Frank Lampard also coming in as caretaker boss.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk