Everton ‘open talks’ with Chelsea for Kurt Zouma transfer — report

Kurt Happy Zouma spent last season on loan at Everton, where he made 32 appearances in the Premier League, cementing his place in the heart of the defense alongside Michael Keane.

Unsurprisingly, Everton and manager Marco Silva had made no secret of their intention to try to keep Zouma for next season as well, talking up that possibility throughout the season. Now, according to Jason Burt of the Telegraph, they’ve even “opened negotiations” with Chelsea for the 24-year-old’s permanent transfer.

Zouma does have four years left on his Chelsea contract, and with a transfer ban looming over the Blues, Everton would surely have to do a lot of convincing.

But at the same time, it’s not entirely obvious where Zouma would fit in at the moment, especially if he’s looking for starters’ minutes. Even though Antonio Rüdiger is set to miss the start of the season, Zouma would have to work hard just to get ahead of David Luiz and Andreas Christensen, not to mention other youth and loan returnees who might compete for the job, such as Ethan Ampadu or Fikayo Tomori or Jake Clarke-Salter.

In other words, no favours for Everton.