West Ham inching closer to signing Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma
West Ham are closing in on completing a move for Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma, according to Sky Sports Italy journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The Hammers have been eyeing a defender all summer and have identified the 26-year-old France international as an option.
His sale would pave the way for the Blues then completing a move for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.
When asked for an update on the Zouma and Kounde situation on his Twitch stream, Romano said (24/08/21, 11:20pm BST), “Let’s see what happens. They [Chelsea] are on final details for both deals.
“Once they sell [Kurt] Zouma to West Ham then they will sign [Jules] Kounde. But first Zouma will move to West Ham. Next few hours are very important but they are on it.”
Get it done
We’ve reached the final stages of discussions on numerous occasions and have failed to land our desired targets.
With Zouma, there has been plenty of back and forth all summer, but we’re now sitting in a comfortable position as Chelsea need him gone just as much as we want to sign, which should make things easier.
The Frenchman would be a terrific signing for us and would add much-needed solidity to our back line.
He’s a good aerial presence and has quick feet, making him ideal for our offensive set pieces as well as to chase down some of the quicker attackers in the league.
Zouma has shown glimpses of his quality at Chelsea, but was never given the opportunity to prove himself regularly.
Here, we would start him week in and week out and he could develop into a terrific player over the coming few years.
In other West Ham news, Hammers ready bid to sign new centre-forward today, club wants £13m+
Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Hammers and more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.