Kurt Zouma should start in central defence alongside Christensen (Getty Images)
Kurt Zouma became the second Chelsea player to join a fellow Premier League club on loan after Kenedy joined Newcastle United. Manager Marco Silva included the Frenchman in the matchday squads for all the three games so far and even handed him a debut last weekend in the 2-2 draw against Bournemouth.
Chelsea signed Kurt Zouma from Ligue 1 club St. Etienne back in the 2013/14 season but loaned him back to his former club. He then made his mark for the Blues with 15 appearances in the 2014/15 season, before emerging as a regular starter under Jose Mourinho. The 2015/16 season proved to be the breakthrough season for the youngster as he went on to make 23 appearances in the league.
However, things went downhill for the Frenchman after he suffered an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament and it took him around 11 months to take the field again. But once Antonio Conte took over as manager, things did not work for Zouma.
He was subsequently loaned out to Stoke City for the entire 2017/18 season where he seemed to have recovered fully from his career-threatening injury.
And a loan move to Everton this season has done the Frenchman no harm. With David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger, Gary Cahill and Andreas Christensen already in the ranks, it would have been difficult for Zouma to break into the first-team picture.
On the other hand, Everton have completed a good move by signing Kurt Zouma. Phil Jagielka is not getting any younger and Mason Holgate, although a promising prospect, is still young and inexperienced.
Marco Silva’s men have played some wonderful free-flowing football this season and their style of play has been pleasing to the eye. However, they have looked quite shaky at the back. Their inability to defend crosses and aerial balls played into the box does seem concerning. The full-backs often failed to close down the spaces quickly enough, placing pressure on the centre-backs.
Keane and Holgate haven’t dealt well with crosses so far but Zouma should be the perfect solution to that problem. Zouma does not have the best composure and tends to lack in terms of discipline occasionally. However, the Frenchman is quite strong in the air. Standing at 6ft 3 inches, his towering presence in the box could be an asset for the Toffees on either side of the field.
Zouma’s physical strength is exceptional and he is rarely dominated by the opposition. Once the Colombian Yerry Mina comes back from injury, Zouma should be the ideal man to partner him at the heart of the defence.
Looking at the other side of things, if Zouma moves permanently to Everton after the loan deal expires, it should not bother Chelsea too much. The Blues currently have four contenders for the centre-back position and they can easily do without a fifth one.
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While it won’t be much of a concern for Chelsea, Everton should look to make this deal permanent. The partnership of Yerry Mina and Kurt Zouma can add a lot of solidity to the team, thus making a positive impact on their results in the coming days.
