Well this will be the question in the mind of the majority of the Blues’ fans after Chelsea completed a £23 million deadline day move for the Italian wingback from Torino.
Conte made the move for his countryman after missing out on Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain after he rejected a move to Chelsea due to positional preference.
Zappacosta is an athletic player who can play as a wingback on both sides, preferably on the right. He can also play in central midfield if needed and therefore provides Chelsea with great versatility.
He is being compared to Alonso, who was also unheard of when he joined the Blues on the deadline day last season. He is considerably faster than the Spaniard and perhaps an even better crosser of the ball.
Last season, Zappacosta registered five assists in Serie A for Torino and, according to Whoscored, the only defender in Italy’s top flight who made more accurate crosses from open play than Zappacosta (47) between January 2016 and May 2017 was Juventus star Alex Sandro, another Chelsea target.
‘It's a dream for me to join Chelsea and play in the Premier League. I am very excited to be here.' #WelcomeDavide pic.twitter.com/919f1thnVz
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 31, 2017
Zappacosta was given his experience of the senior Italy setup by Conte, who named him in his provisional 30-man squad for Euro 2016.
The Torino right-back was never expected to make the final 23-strong group and did not, but Conte chose him along with fellow youngsters Marco Benassi and Daniele Rugani to be the squad’s three reserve players ahead of the tournament.
Typically, these reserves head home after the team’s opening match, but Conte requested that Zappacosta, Benassi, and Rugani stick around to soak up the experience of a first senior international competition.
Zappacosta has subsequently gone on to be capped four times by Conte’s successor, Ventura, setting up a goal with a pinpoint cross for Ciro Immobile in Italy’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Albania in March.
Zappacosta said: ‘It is a dream for me to join Chelsea and play in the Premier League. I am very excited to be here and start working with the team. I hope I can show my quality to the coach, my team-mates, and the supporters.’
Technical director Michael Emenalo added: ‘Davide is a player of international calibre who Antonio Conte knows well and we have been aware of for some time. We are very pleased to be able to bring him to the club and believe he will become an important member of the squad.’
It will be exciting to see how Zappacosta fits in with initial signs suggesting that he will replace Victor Moses in the starting lineup. Zappacosta has more of a final product than the Nigerian and Alvaro Morata can reap the benefits of his quality crossing ability. Antonio Conte will be hoping that his trusted man performs well and Chelsea do not feel like they have missed out on Oxlade Chamberlain.
