West Ham United could have a new face in the squad to face Crystal Palace with a move for Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma ramping up.
That’s according to The Sun, who claim that Zouma’s move to the London Stadium could be done in time for him to face Palace this weekend.
It’s claimed that West Ham have now struck an agreement to sign Zouma for £25million, and are in the final stages of agreeing personal terms.
Chelsea want to offload Zouma in order to fund a move for fellow French defender Jules Kounde before the transfer deadline.
Zouma rejected a move to Sevilla as part of a move to sign Kounde earlier in the transfer window.
The £25million will absolutely help Chelsea’s hopes, and West Ham now hope to be able to unleash Zouma against Palace this weekend.
Would it be harsh to drop Craig Dawson after two wins from two? Probably; he has been solid if unspectacular since signing from Watford almost a year ago.
Yet in Zouma, West Ham would have a top centre back to throw straight into the side against a Palace team yet to score in the Premier League this season.
The simple truth is that West Ham just don’t have a defender with Zouma’s quality right now, and he immediately bolsters Moyes’ back line.
There is a race against time to get Zouma signed up before the Friday cut-off for him to play against Palace, but it sounds like West Ham have real hope of making it happen.
UPDATE: The Telegraph’s Jason Burt now claims that talks between West Ham and Zouma are proving ‘difficult’ and the deal could now collapse.
From hoping Zouma could play on Saturday to the deal potentially being off, this would be a nightmare for West Ham.
Let’s hope the issues are ironed out and Zouma is able to make the move to West Ham, as getting so far down the line and missing out would be tough to swallow.
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