West Ham United have opened talks with Chelsea for the signing of defender Kurt Zouma.
That’s according to a West Ham update from Sky Sports transfer reporters Kaveh Solhekol and Dharmesh Sheth this afternoon.
West Ham desperately need a new centre half after Fabian Balbuena’s departure.
David Moyes has been linked with a host of players from James Tarkowski to Duje Caleta-Car and Nikola Milenkovic.
Was Moyes targeting Zouma all along?
But now it appears West Ham may have had his eye on Zouma all along.
That’s if the claims from Solhekol and Sheth are accurate.
The Sky Sports reporters took to Twitter this afternoon to claim West Ham have opened talks with Chelsea over a possible £20.5m deal for the Frenchman.
And Sheth also claims Zouma would welcome the move.
“West Ham in talks to sign Kurt Zouma from Chelsea,” Solhekol claims.
“Willing to pay £20m. Will cost more.”
“West Ham in talks to sign Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma,” Sheth said.
“West Ham prepared to pay £20m – below Chelsea’s valuation. Zouma settled in London and – as it stands – would welcome the move ahead of being part of a potential swap deal involving Sevilla’s Jules Kounde.”
Star defender Angelo Ogbonna is an injury concern for West Ham and turns 34 next season.
Craig Dawson does not look the same player without the Italian alongside him and he himself turns 32 next season.
Another factor for West Ham is the fact that doubts remain over Issa Diop’s ability to produce consistent performances at the highest level.
Diop’s fellow Frenchman Zouma made 22 appearances for Chelsea last season and scored five goals.
He also had a high average match rating of 7.07 (WhoScored).
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