Chelsea have confirmed the departure of Kurt Zouma after spending seven and a half years at the club, and winning the Champions League with them at the end of the previous season.
The French centre-back joins fellow London club West Ham United for €30 million, and has completed his medicals for the deal as well. Zouma has signed a four-year deal with the Hammers, and will be a key part of their squad as they compete in the Europa League alongside domestic competition.
With the sale of Zouma, Chelsea’s transfer income has risen to over €150 million. Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud, Tino road and Davide Zappacosta are some of the other names that have been sold while several players have also brought in loan fees such as Billy Gilmour and Armando Broja.
Chelsea have been linked with the services of Sevilla defender Jules Kounde and could complete his signing in the next few days. The Blues have maintained their interest since the middle of the transfer window and are working hard to get the deal done within the next two to three days.
Sevilla are not known to sell their players late, and Chelsea will have to make a decent bid if they want to get Kounde as the replacement for Zouma. Chelsea have Trevoh Chalobah as an in-house option if they fail to get the deal through, and the youngster has been impressive in his appearances under Thomas Tuchel so far this season.
