Kurt Zouma is out of favour at Chelsea. (imago Images)
According to transfer news from The Sun, West Ham are all set to abandon their pursuit of Kurt Zouma over wage demands. The Chelsea man is said to be asking for a significant pay raise of £120,000-a-week. West Ham had initially reopened talks for a £20million move but could now scrap that.
Kurt Zouma has had quite the journey at Chelsea. From an early injury setback in 2015, Zouma has bounced back well. His loan spells to Everton and Stoke provided mixed results before he became a mainstay under Frank Lampard. However, Thomas Tuchel’s arrival saw him being given limited game time.
The likes of Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger were first-choice players in defence while Andreas Christensen and Zouma had to be content with the one-off games.
Amidst this, Chelsea have been trying to offload the French defender. West Ham had shown the most keenness and were hoping to get a deal done. (h/t The Sun)
It seems offloading Zouma, who earns £65,000-per-week, has been harder than Chelsea would have expected. Initially, Zouma refused to move when West Ham wanted him. Later West Ham returned with an offer of £20million and though the defender wanted to move now, his wage demands of £120,000-a-week has seen the Hammers baulk. Any potential deal is pretty much on the rocks now. (h/t The Sun)
West Ham are not inclined to offer that much to a player as it would destabilize their wage structure. Chelsea could miss out on a golden opportunity to get Zouma off their books here. That influx of money could help in funding another signing or two. However, the Blues will now have to wait if any other suitor comes along for him.
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