Everton have signed quite a few players from big clubs like Barcelona and Chelsea, either on loan or on permanent deals. In the 2018-19 season, the Merseyside club signed Lucas Digne and Yerry Mina from Barcelona on permanent transfers while Andre Gomes was brought in on loan from the Catalan club. Another player who arrived on loan was Kurt Zouma, who made his way from Chelsea.
The Premier League club are reportedly interested in bringing back the Frenchman to the club, this time on a permanent deal. A report by Telegraph claims that Everton have opened talks to sign Zouma and that they could make a move for him, similar to their interest in signing Gomes on a permanent deal as well.
The 24-year-old defender joined Chelsea in 2014 from Saint-Étienne in 2014 for a fee of £12 million. He made 71 appearances for Chelsea between 2014 and 2017, before being sent out on loan to Stoke City in the 2017-18 season, and then to Everton in the 2018-19 season.
The Frenchman has four years remaining on his contract which expires in 2023.
Zouma played 36 games for Everton in all competitions in the 2018-19 season, playing alongside Michael Keane in the heart of the Everton defence.
Should Chelsea let him leave?
Chelsea are currently facing a transfer ban and will not be able to sign new players in the next two transfer windows unless they get a favourable verdict from the CAS.
In terms of changes, the Blues are most likely set to announce Frank Lampard as their next manager following the departure of Maurizio Sarri from the club.
In the 2018-19 season, Chelsea’s central defensive pairing comprised of Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz, but the former will miss the start of the season due to injury. Andreas Christensen could replace him in the team, while it remains to be seen if the next manager trusts a young player like Ethan Ampadu to start high-profile Premier League games.
It would be an unwise decision to allow a player like Zouma to leave the club, that too when they cannot sign new players to replace him before next season’s summer transfer window.
Zouma hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectations that many had of him, but he is still a useful player who can contribute to the team in the coming season and it won’t be the worst decision for him to seek a fresh start at the Bridge under a new manager.