For a good part of the January transfer window, there were a number of claims that Manchester United were interested in Denis Zakaria.
The Switzerland international was quickly heading towards the end of his contract at Borussia Mönchengladbach, and with the Red Devils in desperate need of a defensive midfielder, the deal was almost a no brainer.
In fact, it appeared Ralf Rangnick thought as much early on, with a report on January 12th claiming that the German manager had held talk with the player’s agents personally.
That led to hope within the Old Trafford faithful, but, as has happened many times in the past, another club swooped in, paid Gladbach some money and signed Zakaria.
Juventus are the ones who acted quickly, knowing there was competition for the player’s services, and they are already reaping the benefits, since the midfielder scored his first goal for his new club on his debut in a 2-0 win over Hellas Verona.
Speaking over the weekend to La Tribune de Genève, Zakaria was directly asked about his decision to conclude a late transfer to Turin when he had the likes of Manchester United after him.
He explained: “Because Juventus are the club that showed the most desire to sign me. There is something to do with the feeling too. You can feel the way people talk to you, the interest people have in you. Other clubs that approached me were more reserved. With Juve, there was an immediate real interest in me, with concrete things from the outset. It’s pleasant, rewarding, and that made the difference.”
