PROFILE | Denis Zakaria remains key to Monaco’s performance | OneFootball

“With and without [Denis] Zakaria, there is a difference,” recognised Lamine Camara last season. Perhaps the Swiss midfielder’s absence for much of the current campaign explains better than anything else the difficult period that AS Monaco have experienced. 

Zakaria has been indispensable ever since joining Monaco in the summer of 2023. The former Chelsea man was imperious in his debut season under Adi Hutter, with whom he was working for the third time in his career. His reward the following summer was the captain’s armband. Whilst less imposing at times, there was still a clear difference between when Zakaria was and was not on the pitch, as Camara has himself acutely felt. The Senegal international has also previously stated that he himself feels more confident when playing alongside the captain, and that confidence seems to exude to his teammates. 

But Zakaria has been an absent leader this season. An adductor injury has limited him to just 10 appearances in all competitions this season, and it is an absence that has coincided with a dip in form, one which cost Hutter his job back in October. 

Zakaria disrupted by Saudi Arabia talks?

Zakaria’s form, in truth, was middling even when he was playing. It was an odd summer for the midfielder, who had looked set for a move to Saudi Arabia, only for the deal to fall through. Asked if Zakaria had been affected by the episode, Hutter replied, “We’ll see“. There is a context around his performances at Monaco, a context of collective struggle, but that aborted move to the Gulf State does look to have had an impact on the Switzerland international’s performances at the start of this campaign.

He remains an important dressing room figure, however. A polyglot, he was an important relayer of information under Hutter, and he has undoubted leadership qualities that are valuable to a very young side, even if there has been a recent influx of experience, too, in the form of Lukas Hradecky, Eric Dier, and Paul Pogba. 

But looking ahead to 2026, he will look to be important again on the pitch. Circumstances have seen his impact there wane, but he certainly has the quality to reverse that trend. “I hope that the injuries are behind me and that I can be with the team as much as possible,” said Zakaria at the end of November. “I feel at 100%,” he added. A Zakaria at 100% should be a big asset to this Monaco side in the coming months.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle