Report: Chelsea braced for £20m offer for defensive star from local rivals

Transfer News: West Ham set to make £20m bid for Chelsea ace Kurt Zouma

According to transfer news from the Daily Mail, Chelsea are bracing themselves for an offer from London rivals West Ham United for defender Kurt Zouma.

Having been with the club since 2014, Zouma has never quite been able to regular starting berth at the Bridge. He has had a couple of loan spells away at Stoke City and Everton, following which he briefly became a fixture in the lineup under Frank Lampard.

However, gradually, the 26-year-old slipped down the pecking order again. With Chelsea now pushing to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla, the Frenchman finds himself staring at an uncertain future at the Bridge.

There have been murmurs of the club trying to use him as a makeweight in the deal to sign Kounde. But, the La Liga club are believed to have rejected such a proposal. (h/t Metro)

And now, West Ham United are set to capitalise on the situation by launching a move for the former AS Saint-Etienne defender. As per the aforementioned report, the Hammers are preparing a bid worth £20m for the Frenchman. However, that is likely to follow below Chelsea’s valuation of the Frenchman.

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A talented defender on his day, Zouma has been hampered by injuries and issues of inconsistency throughout his time at Chelsea. Given that there are already several defenders ahead of him in the order of preference at the club, and with Kounde likely to arrive this summer, it would be the best-case scenario for everyone involved if Zouma moved on.

However, West Ham will likely have to up their offer in order to land the French international.