"It was crazy" – Player knows why Potter failed at Chelsea, paid the price himself

Zakaria says Potter struggled to manage Chelsea's bloated squad and couldn't drop big-name players, leaving fringe options like himself sidelined for months without explanation.

Dennis Zakaria has explained why Graham Potter's Chelsea tenure failed, drawing on his own experience of being frozen out by the manager. Zakaria joined Chelsea on loan in summer 2022 at Thomas Tuchel's request but found himself cast aside when Potter arrived the following day on a five-year deal. Potter, tasked with trimming Chelsea's oversized squad, opted to keep established names involved rather than rotate in fringe players.

Zakaria managed just 11 appearances and 600 minutes across the 2022–23 season, with a four-month spell where he wasn't even included in the squad. When he asked Potter directly what he needed to do to play, the manager offered no concrete reason, simply saying "there's no particular reason" and "maybe your moment will come." Zakaria believes Potter's inability to manage the squad dynamics and make tough calls on big names was central to his failure. Potter was sacked in April 2023 after just seven months in charge.