Kurt Zouma shone in the Premier League at Everton last season and it is no secret that Marco Silva wanted him back at Goodison Park.
Chelsea are following Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile ‘very, very closely’, according to Le10 Sport, with a move to Stamford Bridge potentially on the cards during the January transfer window.
And this could be music to the ears of Everton fans everywhere. Could Kurt Zouma be on his way back to Goodison Park after all?
The French international centre-back shone during a loan spell on Merseyside last season and it is no secret that The Toffees wanted to sign him permanently, fighting tooth and nail for Zouma right up until the end of the transfer window (The Telegraph).
New Chelsea manager Frank Lampard refused to let him go, however, and Everton have been left disturbingly short at centre-back.
But with reports from across the Channel claiming that Badiashile could be on his way to West London with Chelsea confident of escaping their transfer ban before the the new year (Mirror), Everton will be praying that this has a knock-on effect for Zouma.
At the age of 18, Badiashile is already a key part of a Monaco team which looks rejuvenated under Leonardo Jardim with six Ligue 1 starts to his name this season.
The teenager won’t come cheap, however, with L’Equipe claiming that the 2017 French champions value Badiashile at around £35 million. Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur have also been linked in recent times.
According to Le10 Sport, Chelsea are the latest club to express an interest with the France U19 international, a towering presence at 6ft 4ins, who is starting to come into his own after being thrown in at the deep end during the nightmare reign of Thierry Henry.
In Fikayo Tomori and Andreas Christiansen, Lampard already has two of Europe’s most exciting young defenders at his disposal while Lampard rates 19-year-old Marc Guehi very highly too, handing him a debut against Grimsby last week.
Zouma might have started five of six Premier League games under Lampard so far but he’s noticeably struggled at times with the manager asking him to pass out from the back.
So if Badiashile does arrive, Zouma could be the one to make way. Everton will be watching things very closely indeed.
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