Obstacles demolished as Chelsea star takes medical ahead of crucial exit
Any issues holding up the deal for Kurt Zouma to move from Chelsea to West Ham appear to have been resolved after the latest update on his situation.
Zouma has been heavily linked with West Ham in recent days, but things appeared to have veered off course when it was claimed the deal was on the verge of collapsing. According to reports in his native France on Wednesday, the two clubs had come to a disagreement.
Therefore, the transfer seemed to be blocked, sending the Hammers back to the drawing board after a frustrating summer searching for another new defender. But there may be a positive conclusion to the story after all.
According to Sky Sports News, Zouma is now undergoing a medical with West Ham ahead of the potential transfer. The fee will be in the region of around £25m after previous negotiations.
It appears the green light has finally been given for the move, which will be a welcome relief to both clubs. For West Ham, Zouma will be a dependable reinforcement in the defensive third.
They have so far only made Craig Dawson’s stay with the club permanent in that department. While he impressed on loan from Watford last season, they required another option following the departure of Fabian Balbuena.
Zouma looks set to fill the void after all, which should also free up Chelsea to pursue the signing of Jules Kounde from Sevilla.
Kounde is one of the Blues’ remaining summer targets, along with midfielder Saul Niguez. However, they have known all along that they would only be able to sign the centre-back by selling one of their current options first.
Zouma now appears to be on the verge of leaving, which will make room for Kounde as long as Chelsea can make an acceptable offer to Sevilla.
In fact, they may already have done so, after reports on Wednesday night claimed a deal is close for somewhere in the region of €50m.
Therefore, with both deals seemingly nearing a conclusion at long last, Chelsea should be able to turn their focus firmly to wrapping up Saul’s signature as well in the final few days of the transfer window.
Door open for Saul signing
On Wednesday, it was revealed that Manchester United have ruled themselves out of the running for Saul.
The midfielder looks likely to leave Atletico Madrid this summer after winning the Spanish title with them last season.
Although he has played for them in their opening matches this season, he can see a future away from the club. A Premier League move has thus been speculated for months and Chelsea remain keen on a possible deal.
Confirmation has since arrived that Chelsea are still negotiating over a possible loan deal.
He would be the icing on the cake of another busy summer window for the Blues.
But for now, they must first wait for the Zouma sale to go over the line, before moving for Kounde while working on Saul simultaneously. It appears only a matter of time before the first task is finally completed.
If the registration goes through by midday on Friday, Zouma could make his West Ham debut against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
READ MORE: Chelsea hatch plan after midfielder makes London visit amid transfer links
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