Chelsea have been handed a major boost as both deadline day signings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Denis Zakaria are among the travelling party for their Champions League group opener against Dinamo Zagreb.
Both players were added to Thomas Tuchel’s squad in the final hours of the summer transfer window, Aubameyang permanently and Zakaria on an initial loan move, though the deal also includes an option to buy the Swiss midfielder at the end of the spell.
There were doubts about whether either would be fit enough to play a part in their Champions League opener, with Aubameyang still recovering from a broken jaw sustained in a house robbery, while Zakaria had been in and out of the Juventus team at the beginning of the season.
However, video footage showed Aubameyang with his teammates, including fellow new signing Wesley Fofana, boarding the coach to the airport for their trip to Croatia.
All aboard! 🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/fwWzFIZFBn
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 5, 2022
And subsequent reports have confirmed that Zakaria has also travelled with his new teammates, with both players in contention to make their debuts for the Blues on Tuesday evening in some capacity.
In less good news, centre-back Thiago Silva has not travelled, though this is believed to be merely in order to give the veteran centre-back a rest, with the 37-year-old having played every minute of their Premier League campaign so far.
Both Kante and Jorginho are out of contract next summer, and it remains unclear whether their deals will be extended, with both now the wrong side of 30.
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