Chelsea boss Antonio Conte willing to accept loan offers from Marseille, Lyon and Nice for Kurt Zouma, but defender wants London stay
The 22-year-old struggled for game time at Stamford Bridge last season and his Italian manager is determined to loan him out for much-needed minutes
KURT ZOUMA’S Chelsea future looks to be in doubt with Antonio Conte desperate to loan him back to France according to reports.
However, the centre-back is determined to stay in London, whether that be with the Blues or another Premier League club.
According to French news outlet L’Equipe, the Italian boss has received offers from Marseille, Lyon and OGC Nice – all of which he would be willing to accept.
The 22-year-old is adamant he doesn’t want to return to Ligue 1, having swapped St Etienne for Stamford Bridge in a £12million deal in 2014.
With the imminent arrival of Roma defender Antonio Rudiger looming on a £30million deal, game time would be hard to come by next season for the Les Bleus international.
Zouma struggled for minutes under the 47-year-old last season, managing a mere nine top-flight appearances compared to 23 the campaign before.
In all competitions he featured 13 times – as he fell down the pecking order after Conte switched to a back three, without rotating the back-line often.
The star trio of David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta – who converted from a full-back to central defender, proved pivotal as they romped to a fifth Premier League title.
Conte doesn’t wish to allow the Under-20 World Cup winner to leave on a permanent deal, as he believes he can still be a key player in the coming seasons.
Speaking recently of speculation regarding his career, he said: “I’m very happy at Chelsea. I hear the rumours, it’s flattering. It means I’m a player people are looking at, but I’m not going to stop there.
“My objective is to stay at Chelsea. Next season, we’ll start from scratch, there will be a lot of games.”
Crystal Palace are also reportedly keen on bringing him in on a temporary deal as talks stall at Selhurst Park to bring Mamadou Sakho in from Liverpool.
Zouma could still be a Blues player come the end of the transfer window as John Terry and Nathan Ake have both left the club to Aston Villa and Bournemouth respectively.