Juventus 'willing to offer Zakaria to Chelsea in a swap deal for Kovacic'

Juventus want to sign Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic as part of a swap deal for Denis Zakaria during the summer transfer window, according to reports.

Zakaria joined Chelsea on a season-long loan from Juventus on deadline day last summer. His deal included an option to buy for the Premier League giants.

Italian news outlet Calcio Mercato Web have said that Juventus are willing to part ways with Zakaria on a permanent basis to secure the services of Kovacic in return.

However, it seems unlikely that Chelsea will agree to such terms as Kovacic is one of Graham Potter's most important players.

He is one of the first names to appear on the Chelsea team-sheet when fit to play. As it stands, he has made 15 Premier League appearances this season.

However, Potter has heaped praise on Zakaria for his performances at Chelsea. Speaking in December he said: 'Whenever Denis has played, he's not let us down.'

The Chelsea boss went on to say: 'He played in the Champions League against Zagreb and scored, so he's shown his quality.

'He has remained professional, worked really hard and it's why he got his reward [against Bournemouth] with a decent performance and a contribution to a win.'

Potter added: 'I've said before, he has had to be patient because we have some good options in the midfield.

'It has to be remembered we didn't lose for the first few games so it was hard for him to get that opportunity.'