Italian club to bid for Chelsea's Kurt Zouma in January -- report

Fiorentina and Chelsea seem to have grown an intense relationship for unlikely reasons and by all signs, the Salah saga shouldn't be the last time we will hear about them as according to Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, the Viola will be making a bid for Chelsea's towering defender Kurt Zouma.

Apparently, Fiorentina weren't the Italian club in the chase for Zouma in the last transfer window, with other clubs such as Roma and Napoli also interested in having the player. In Fiorentina's case, they'd look to go for the usual "loan with an option to buy" deal.

But Zouma isn't the only Chelsea player on Fiorentina's long list, as according to the same report the Blues are willing to send U21 defender Ola Aina on loan -- which seems like a much more likely deal given Zouma's recent performances and importance to the team.  The 20-year-old looks ready to claim a starting eleven place, if not now, then in the very near future.

The only case in which a Kurt Zouma transfer would make sense is if José Mourinho loses his faith on the player, but the chances of that happening are probably quite slim. Mourinho seems to trust the young man not just in central defense, but in a specialized, defensive midfield role as well. But Serie A wouldn't be a bad league for Ola Aina to pick up time as a professional player, although I'd prefer we avoid doing any sort of business with Fiorentina for the time being.