Daniel Kretinsky avoids costly financial loss as West Ham United sources share Kurt Zouma update
West Ham United shareholder Daniel Kretinsky may have avoided a serious clanger after club sources shared their stance on Kurt Zouma’s reported contract talks.
TEAMTalk reported on Tuesday 10 October that West Ham were planning to offer the Frenchman a new contract given his form but it’s now reported that the club aren’t in any rush to sign up for new terms.
Trusted West Ham news outlet Claret & Hugh (10 October) reported on their website that sources from within the Hammers have “immediately dismissed the speculation as being inaccurate” and there is “zero” rush to offer the defender a new deal at the club.
Claret & Hugh reveals that a top source at the club shared: “He has really bad knees which is why we put him in a four-year deal. It’s also why we’re not playing him in Europe (so resting midweek).
“We have to best part of two years left on his current contract plus an option. There is zero rush to renew.”
Before West Ham signed the Frenchman from Chelsea, they had significant defensive problems.
While Zouma is not the only influential component of the Hammers’ improved backline, he has been a pivotal player for Moyes from the minute he put pen to paper in East London.
So if there is anyone who deserves a new contract after Jarrod Bowen’s renewal it is certainly the Frenchman who has been an absolute colossus under Moyes’ management.
David Moyes made Zouma the new captain of the club after Declan Rice’s departure this summer and has played every minute of Premier League football this season, but his injury record means he is only able to play one game a week which is totally understandable.
And that is certainly why West Ham United have put contract talks on the back burner, given his worrying injury record.
The Frenchman needs to prove that he can play a 30+ game Premier League season before Kretinsky and Moyes decide whether to hand him the keys to a new long-term contract at the London Stadium.
The last time the 28-year-old featured for 30-plus games in a Premier League season was back in the 2018/19 campaign for Everton [Transfermarkt] where he became a household name where he registered two goals and two assists.
The Hammers certainly can’t be throwing money around on new contracts for players with worrying injury records throughout their careers, with no guarantees they’d feature prominently.
That’s the doubt West Ham United have over Zouma right now, and it’s why he’s only been resigned to Premier League games so far this season.
It would have been a costly clanger had the Kretinsky moved forward with plans to hand him a new long-term deal like Bowen got. It’s a decision which must be made with considerable thought.
In other West Ham news, a journalist has revealed what he’s been told about the club’s plans in the January transfer window and an “alternate” role for one big-money London Stadium signing.