West Ham in talks over the signing of defender Kurt Zouma; Hammers prepared to pay around £20m, which falls below Chelsea's valuation; Zouma is settled in London and is thought to welcome the move over being part of a swap deal involving Sevilla's Jules Kounde
Thursday 29 July 2021 18:07, UK
West Ham are in talks with Chelsea over the possibility of signing defender Kurt Zouma.
The 26-year-old arrived from Saint-Etienne in 2014 but is entering the final two years of his contract at Stamford Bridge.
A player-plus-cash swap deal for Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde has also been mooted but it is believed Zouma is settled in London and would welcome a move to West Ham.
The Hammers are prepared to pay around £20m for the Frenchman, which falls below Chelsea's valuation.
Zouma has featured 150 times for Chelsea, scoring ten goals and is a winner of two Premier League titles, three FA Cups, the League Cup and the Champions League.
However, since Thomas Tuchel's appointment in January, Zouma has played just 13 times in all competitions with the German head coach preferring Antonio Rudiger instead.
Rudiger himself has less than 12 months remaining on his contract and was frozen out by Frank Lampard before his departure.
West Ham also remain in talks with defender Vladimir Coufal over a new contract but a resolution is yet to happen.
You can follow all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms, as well as keeping track of all the developments on Sky Sports News.
