According to The Times (via The Sun), Everton have contacted Chelsea to see if they can have French centre-back Kurt Zouma on another season-long loan at Goodison Park.
Toffees boss Marco Silva wants another quality defender to boost his backline, and the fact that the Stamford Bridge outfit have yet to tell Everton they are not open to finding an agreement is something the Merseyside club are taking as a positive sign.
Chelsea new boss Frank Lampard only has three centre-back options available, though, with Antonio Rudiger set to miss the start of the season through injury, and that could make him reluctant to let Zouma join Everton again.
“I think Chelsea is a very special club in relation to that. I just give an example: Chelsea needs a centre-back – Kurt Zouma! You don’t need to buy, you don’t need to spend. Zouma!,” the erstwhile Manchester United boss told Sky Sports.
“He’s champion of England, he played for Chelsea, played for Stoke in the Premier League, played for Everton in the Premier League, played for France. He’s your player, he’s on loan, where are you going to buy a better player than him? You already have him.”
Zouma showed his quality for all to see at Everton last term, and it’s almost impossible to see Chelsea agreeing to a temporary exit again.
The Merseysiders aren’t giving up, though, but they most likely have a contingency plan in place with just a week left in the transfer window, and it will be interesting to see which centre-back arrives in the coming days.
Landing Zouma will be huge, and Everton will hope a loan deal can be gotten over the line somehow.
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