In the space of just four years, Kurt Zouma has gone from a Champions League winner with Chelsea and then a Conference League champion with West Ham United to Romanian football, via a difficult loan spell in Saudi Arabia.
And as CFR Cluj president Cristi Balaj explains, the eight-time Liga I champions may need plenty of patience if they are to help the former France international return to his London-era peak.
Zouma made a shock move to Romanian giants Cluj last week. The former West Ham United captain signs a two-year deal at the Doctor Constantin Radulescu Stadium, and immediately becomes the most high-profile player in the whole of the country.
Owner Neletu Varga believes Zouma can bring Champions League football back to Cluj after 13 years away from the continent’s premier club competition.
But, arriving on the back of a year in Saudi Arabia with Al-Orobah, his new employers are wary of expecting too much too soon.
Cluj, after all, are not getting Kurt Zouma at the pinnacle of his career. If he was still at the peak, it’s fair to say Romania would have been one of the last destinations on his mind.
CFR Cluj president shares Kurt Zouma plan as former West Ham United captain arrives in Romania
Balaj, speaking to Prima Sport, fears that the less-than stellar facilities on offer at Al-Orobah threatens to delay his impact at Cluj.
“I don’t know when Zouma will be able to return. It could take a month,” says the president, accepting that the magnifying glass will be firmly fixed on one of Romanian football’s biggest-ever acquisitions.
“The important thing is not to rush. There will be some scrutiny on him and it’s important, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
“In terms of character, in terms of attitude, I see how he’s preparing. It’s not by chance that he’s reached the level he’s at. He left a very good impression on me. He’s training. We are also very good at everything that means recovery, physiotherapy, physical training.
“We’re at a very high level.”
Zouma only played 19 games in the Saudi Pro League, arriving in Romania in hardly tip-top shape.
Balaj, though, is confident that Cluj made the right call when overlooking any long-term concerns over his fitness,
“There is no player who comes out perfect [after a medical examination]. There are players who exceed a certain pain threshold or do not have that sensitivity,” he adds. “It remains to be seen to what extent we will manage to bring him to the best possible level from a physical point of view.
“Everything depends on him.”
Zouma endured a tough time in Saudi Arabia with ‘amateurish’ Al-Orobah
Speaking upon his official unveiling in Romania, Kurt Zouma admitted his proudest moment came at West Ham.
He puts that Conference League triumph over Fiorentina above Chelsea’s Champions League final victory over Manchester City a year previously, having watched the latter match from the substitute’s bench.
“Four years ago, he was lifting the Champions League trophy. And, two years ago, he was playing in the Premier League,” Balaj adds. “It so happened that last season he played in Saudi Arabia, on the team where [Cluj midfielder Karlo] Muhar was also.
“The conditions left something to be desired, in the sense that there was no professionalism that ensures you a tone, an attitude, a strength, a power of play, especially in terms of the training that is carried out there.
“They did not have a gym at the club. They did not have anywhere to do extra work. Sometimes there was no water in the shower. They said it was a bit amateurish.
“From this point of view, there was a setback, so to speak, in his preparation. Plus, he took this break [after his West Ham contract expired in July].
“It happens that free agent players wait until the end of the transfer window out of the desire to get the best possible contract. If we had tried to bring him in at the beginning of the transfer period, he probably wouldn’t have wanted to sign with us.”
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