Journalist ‘not convinced’ that West Ham United will offer Kurt Zouma a new contract amid Saudi interest
Dean Jones is “not convinced” West Ham will offer Kurt Zouma a new contract amid speculation of a potential move to the Saudi Pro League.
Reports emerged earlier this week that the new Hammers captain was a target for clubs in the Saudi Pro League [90Min, 12 October] after the Frenchman has impressed so far this season and is also entering the final 18 months of his deal at the London Stadium.
Various reports have said that David Moyes’ side will look to tie the former Chelsea man down to a new deal to prevent him from moving away in the upcoming transfer window [Fabrizio Romano, 14 October], but journalist Jones isn’t convinced that will be the case due to the Hammers’ cautious work previously.
Speaking to Give Me Sport (14 October) he said: “I know there is talk about Kurt Zouma getting a new deal, but I’m still not wholly convinced by it because I think that defence is one area that West Ham might focus on quite heavily when it comes to refreshing and upgrading this squad.
“The club are generally being cautious about rushing into committing to things at the moment and that includes David Moyes, who is out of contract at the end of this season.
“I think the club want to be very sure about how this is going over the next couple of months from a player perspective and manager perspective because there are going to be some big decisions in 2024 that dictate which way this club heads.”
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West Ham’s decision over whether to extend Zouma’s stay at the London Stadium or to cash on him in the upcoming transfer windows will likely be entirely dependent on their belief as to whether they can find a better centre-back with the money raised by his sale.
Currently, Moyes is rather short of options in the heart of the defence, with Angelo Ogbonna and Konstantinos Mavropanos waiting in the wings while Zouma and Nayef Aguerd start week in and week out in the Premier League.
The early signs suggest that Mavropanos is more than capable of being a very good addition to the squad but given Ogbonna’s age, the Hammers would likely need to sign at least a couple of defenders, if Zouma was allowed to depart.
You could argue that West Ham now have a settled midfield thanks to their superb summer additions and in attack they’re fairly well stocked, barring that out-and-out centre-forward to score 20 goals a season, so it would make sense for the main focus of improvement to be in defence.
Given Moyes’ precarious contract position, he may not have the power to call for Zouma to be tied down for a few more years as it remains uncertain whether he will even be in charge himself. Luckily, West Ham have plenty of time to make these crucial decisions before contracts run out.
In other West Ham news, Soucek’s performance for the Czech Republic may have helped the Hammers keep hold of the midfielder