Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma rebounded from a rough start to become the club’s best centerback this season. What questions should be asked ahead of next season?
Kurt Zouma finally got his return to Chelsea after a few years away on loan. The start was extremely rough with the Frenchman being at fault for more than a few goals. But then he steadied out and over the course of the season became Chelsea’s best centerback both in ability and consistency. What questions need to be asked of him before the new season?
1. Chelsea cannot be dumb enough to sell him, right?
It is best to start with the elephant in the room. Of all the Chelsea centerbacks, the only one that has really been mentioned with a transfer away (Fikayo Tomori rumors have only ever been about a loan) has been Zouma. That the Blues’ best centerback of the season would even be rumored for a move away is confusing.
Taking a step back, reasons can be found to make the rumors make sense. Chelsea needs and wants a new centerback, but one will have to depart to make room/fund the new acquisition. Tomori is eyed for a loan and Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger will both fail to attract strong suitors after their performances this season. That leaves Zouma.
In addition, there may be a sense on Zouma’s end that his time at Chelsea has run its course. He is reaching that age where players start to itch for a move for their prime years. If a French club or one of the Spanish giants came calling, it may be too good of a move for Zouma to pass up.
All that being said, Chelsea would be monumentally stupid to sell Zouma. He was easily the club’s best centerback through the course of the season. Is he the mystical ball playing centerback everyone in the world craves thanks to Pep Guardiola? No, but he does not need to be. He does the important bits, defending, well and the Blues can always bring in someone to do the fluffy stuff later.
Chelsea needs a new centerback, but not to the point where letting Zouma go makes even a tiny bit of sense. Right now, the rumors are only at the “they would consider it stage” but that should be as far as it goes this summer.
2. Has he already hit his ceiling or is there more to come?
Part of why Chelsea may even fancy the thought of selling Zouma is his potential. Antonio Rudiger’s bad year can be chalked off due to his injury issues. Andreas Christensen still has promise, even if it may take a miracle to draw it out some days. Tomori obviously has the potential if every thing on and off the field can be aligned in the right way. But Zouma may be exactly what he is now.
Zouma’s injury a few years ago required him to go out on loan to find his way again. He struggled somewhat at Stoke before eventually finding his feet at Everton. He was not quite the same player as before, but he was good. At Chelsea he has been good. The concern is if that is the best he has now.
Chelsea needs good defenders, but they need great ones far more. The Blues already have four defenders who are good but none that are great. A new signing could, in theory, raise a good defender into a great one but that spot will still need to be opened up.
If Zouma’s already at his ceiling, that player may not be him. Consistency is a valuable skill in a defender for sure, but improvement is even more important. Zouma showed the former this season. He did not necessarily show the latter over the course of the season.
It can be argued that he did improve from his time at Everton though. Especially from his time at Stoke. The Blues will still be looking for more out the Frenchman however, best defender or not.
3. Is he good enough to be the guaranteed starter?
Zouma was the most consistent and best centerback this season. Christensen and Tomori both still have the potential to improve but will need to show it. Rudiger has been much better than he has shown but he also needs to show it. Any talks of a ceiling or transfer out for Zouma aside, should he be a guaranteed starter among those four?
Ideally, yes. Christensen and Tomori would both need to show much more of their potential into practice to have a shot. Rudiger, if he returns to how he was, is competition for Zouma but not unbeatable. The only real concern Zouma may have is a potential new signing in addition to a Rudiger resurgence.
Declan Rice has been the most heavily linked despite playing in midfield for most of the last two seasons. Chelsea seems to see him as a centerback but there is no guarantee he plays there for the Blues if he joins. Lewis Dunk rumors are swirling but he does not unseat anyone of the four Chelsea centerbacks. Jose Gimenez batted his eyes at Frank Lampard recently, but it would be extremely difficult to pry him away from Atletico Madrid. He would arrive at Chelsea as the obvious starter though.
The hope for Zouma is that he can improve and the right partner next to him helps him break through his ceiling to become the great defender the Blues need. Rudiger could be competition, but the German will need to find his way out of the injury haze first. As things stand, Zouma should be a guaranteed starter, but an incoming player could change everything for everyone in the backline.
What questions do you think need to be asked of Kurt Zouma before next season? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!