The fee required for a permanent deal is believed to be £30m.
Sportsmail’s Italian football expert Alvise Cagnazzo recently provided an insight into the type of player Chelsea have landed: “Zakaria is a fighter who runs for 90 minutes. Chelsea have bought a gladiator, not someone who should be asked to make 50 metre passes from one side of the pitch to the other.”
Elsewhere, it has been revealed that Chelsea were not the only club interested in the Swiss midfielder on deadline day.
According to Calciomercato, Liverpool completed a deal for Arthur after failing to find an agreement for Zakaria who was their number one target.
It is easy to see why Liverpool wanted to sing Zakaria. The Reds are in desperate need of a proper workhorse midfielder now that Joran Henderson and James Milner are past their best.
And whilst Arthur is a good option to have and will likely offer more going forward than Zakaria, his defensive ability is not close to that of Zakaria.
Celtic vs Real Madrid betting tips: Champions League preview, predictions and odds
