According to The Athletic, Chelsea & West Ham reach an agreement for Kurt Zouma, but the move is currently being held up by personal terms.
One of the leaders in world sports, The Athletic, believes that West Ham United and their London rivals have agreed to move Kurt Zouma from a Blue to Claret and Blue. The now 26-year-old center-back has been on West Ham’s radar for quite some time, and it appears that they are ready to meet Chelsea’s selling price of £25.8 million (€30 million).
The major hold-up, and it will come as no surprise, is the player’s weekly wages. Zouma is currently on £125,000 per week at Chelsea, and he has reportedly asked for a raise in the move to East London. If the rumors are correct and the move happens, Kurt Zouma a comfortable player. In fact, the most comfortable on the entire squad.
If David Moyes gets his man and the deal across the table, Kurt Zouma will become the Hammer’s richest player. That spot is currently held by Andriy Yarmolenko, so you can see why this number has great contention behind it. Currently, the Hammers CB partnership of Ogbonna and Dawson earn a combined total of £112,500 per week, which Zouma already supersedes.
Does Kurt Zouma deserve to be West Ham’s richest player?
Kurt Zouma finally provided a major help for the Blue’s last season, playing in 36 matches. He inevitably helped Chelsea win the Champions League title and finish fourth in the EPL. After recovering from a pretty significant knee injury, Zouma enjoyed success at both Stoke City and Everton on loan from 2017-2019.
West Ham United
West Ham’s Gaffer has made Zouma his primary desire all summer, even though the club was back and forth on both Nikola Milenkovic and Duje Caleta-Car. So, keeping all of this in mind, does Kurt Zouma deserve to be West Ham’s richest player? When looking at the idea of “deserving,” a few things come to mind. Need, priorities, and desire all make this list.
Does West Ham need Kurt Zouma? They might not need him, but they do need depth and change in the center-back position. Is the CB role the desired fill before the window closes? Absolutely, the Hammers need depth back there with a plethora of new matches incoming. Does the player desire to play here? That’s yet to be seen, but he has shown that the more he plays, the better he is.
Bringing in new players on a high wage might normally not be a dressing room distress, but when the club’s current Skipper, Declan Rice, cannot get the wages he desires, it certainly can and will cause division. Kurt Zouma has certainly played better in recent months, but he still isn’t playing at that level to deserve those types of wages.
Kouma, West Ham, and Chelsea are all in a bind on this one. The Blue’s want Zouma out to add youth, West Ham wants him in but not at his asking price, and Kouma desires to play. Anyone’s guess which one will break first, but you have to hope the Hammers won’t budge just to make ends meet, even if the need is incredibly high.