Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel did not recognise Denis Zakaria when he first met the midfielder, according to reports.
Zakaria joined Chelsea on a season-long loan from Juventus on deadline day, and was introduced to Tuchel in September.
However, Tuchel did not realise who he was, and did not have an input in his signing, as reported by the Daily Telegraph.
The summer transfer window was Chelsea's first since the arrival of new owner Todd Boehly, and the American had no problem with splashing the cash as the club brought in Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Kouliably among others.