The uncomfortable reality is starting to set in that West Ham United should be looking to replace club captain Kurt Zouma in the summer.
Kurt Zouma was named as the new West Ham skipper in the summer after Declan Rice left to join Arsenal, but David Moyes has had to wrap him up in cotton wool this season, due to the 29-year-old’s ongoing fitness concerns.
The Hammers signed Zouma from Chelsea in the summer of 2021 for around £30 million (Daily Mail), but it was rumoured at the time that David Sullivan tried to pull out of the deal after the Frenchman underwent his medical.
It’s now easy to see why the West Ham owner tried to do that – Zouma moves around incredibly uncomfortably, and looks like he’s really struggling even when he’s supposedly fully fit to play.
The problems that he’s had with his knees over the past few years are only going to get worse now. He’ll be 30 later this year, and the cold hard truth of the matter is that it’s only downhill from there on out as a professional athlete.
The 29-year-old has missed 23 games for the Hammers through injury since moving to the London Stadium with separate knee, hamstring and ankle problems (Transfermarkt).
And despite the fact that he’s fit right now, Moyes absolutely must be looking to bring in a long-term replacement for Kurt at some point in the near future…
West Ham really need to replace Kurt Zouma this summer
Listen, on his day Zouma is up there with the very best centre-backs in world football.
He’s aerially dominant, a great leader at the back and doesn’t allow too many people to get past him.
However, every time he has taken to the pitch this season, he has been seen hobbling off at the end of the games.
The former Chelsea man just looks like he’s a serious injury waiting to happen whenever he plays for us, and Moyes surely sees this as well.
Every time he goes to ground it looks like he’s struggling to get back up, whilst sprinting back into position also seems like a real struggle for Zouma at the moment.
The knee problems that have plagued the 29-year-old throughout his career obviously have not been properly dealt with.
Whether another surgery is the way to go or not is debatable. But the fact that he can barely walk after each game that he plays should be a big concern for the Hammers fans.
Moyes simply has to act and as hard as this may be to accept for the West Ham fans, the Scot should be looking really hard into properly replacing Kurt Zouma in the summer transfer window.
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