The question on everybody’s lips, after former West Ham United defender Kurt Zouma left the Premier League behind to start afresh in faraway Romania with CFR Cluj, was ‘why?’.
Just how on earth had CFR Cluj managed to secure the services of a France international centre-half who, at the age of only 30, appeared more than young enough to extend his stay in the most high-profile of European leagues?
Zouma was linked with Spanish giants Valencia not so long ago, after all.
And while Valencia are no longer the same Champions League-targeting, La Liga-winning force of the early-2000s, a move to the Mestalla would have seen Kurt Zouma go eyeball-to-eyeball with Robert Lewandowski, Julian Alvarez, Kylian Mbappe and co after his four-year spell at West Ham United came to an end in July.
Former West Ham United captain Kurt Zouma explains shock CFR Cluj transfer
Speaking of the Champions League, Cluj owner Neletu Varga is backing Kurt Zouma to bring elite European football back to the Doctor Constantin Radulescu Stadium.
While regulars in continental competition, the eight-time Romanian champions have not featured on the biggest stage since 2012, when they stunned Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United with a famous 1-0 victory on home soil.
It is that sort of night Zouma is aiming for after signing a two-year deal nearly 1,400 miles east from his old London home.
“I feel good and I’m glad to be here,” the former Chelsea, Stoke City and Everton defender smiled during his official unveiling as a CFR Cluj player.
“It’s a new chapter for me, a new country, a new culture.
“I’m a guy who likes contact. Naturally, I’m a defender. I’m here to protect my goal,” adds Zouma, reuniting with Karlo Muhar after playing alongside the Croatian during his loan spell at Qatari outfit Al-Orubah.
“I have to help the defence be stronger, and the fans can expect from me that I will always work hard. I will fight for the badge and for the team.
“What I can bring is the desire to win every game, to always give everything, 100 per cent in training, to work hard. Even if we have weaker moments, we have to remember that we are playing football. You have to give everything to win. That is what matters most.”
Reflecting on his career to date, the well-travelled Zouma puts the Europa Conference League medal he won with West Ham in 2023 ahead of that Champions League victory at Chelsea as his standout achievement.
“I have many moments that I’m proud of,” adds a man who inherited the captain’s armband from Declan Rice at West Ham, a role which now belongs to Jarrod Bowen. “I’m not going to lie, I’m extremely grateful to football. I have many good moments.
“I would say when I won the Champions League was one of the best, of course, and when I came to West Ham and won the Conference League as well. I think it was even more special.”
In one fell swoop, Zouma becomes comfortably the most high-profile player in Romania’s top flight. Not only that, but also one of the league’s biggest-ever signings.
Cluj president Cristi Balaj credits the role Mikael Silvestre played in bringing his compatriot to Eastern Europe. Former Manchester United and Arsenal defender Silvestre now works as the sporting director at the Doctor Constantin Radulescu Stadium.
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