Kurt Happy Zouma ( yield 27 October 1994 ) is a french professional football player who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club West Ham United and the France national team. Zouma began his career at Saint-Étienne, making his professional debut aged 16, and going on to win the Coupe de la Ligue with the club in 2013. Zouma joined Chelsea for £12 million in January 2014, but was loaned back to the french club for the remainder of the season. In his first full campaign in England, Zouma helped Chelsea win the League Cup and the Premier League. In July 2017, Zouma joined Stoke City on lend for the 2017–18 season. This was followed by another loan be active to Everton for the 2018–19 season.
Reading: Kurt Zouma
Zouma represented France at several youth levels, up to under-21. He made his senior external debut against Denmark on 29 March 2015 .
Club career [edit ]
early career [edit ]
Born in Lyon, Zouma began his career at age nine with Vaulx-en-Velin until he was 15. He played as a correctly winger and besides as a hitter before switching to his current position of a defender. [ 4 ]
Zouma warming up Saint-Étienne in 2011 Zouma joined Saint-Étienne in 2009. On 2 April 2011, he signed his first professional condense, agreeing to a three-year contract. [ 5 ] He was subsequently promoted to the senior team by director Christophe Galtier ahead of the 2011–12 temper, and initially played without a identify on his shirt in ordain to protect him from media care. [ 6 ] Zouma made his master debut at 16 years old, on 31 August 2011 in a Coupe de la Ligue match against Bordeaux, playing the stallion meet in a 3–1 gain. [ 7 ] On 17 September, he made his Ligue 1 introduction in a 3–0 loss at Lorient ; his first professional goal came on 19 November, replacing Paulão after nine minutes and finishing a corner kick to confirm a 2–0 succeed before half time at OGC Nice. [ 8 ] He totalled 21 league games in his first season – 13 starts – and his other goal came on 14 January 2012, heading Banel Nicolita ‘s corner for the only goal against base Sochaux at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. [ 9 ] On 20 April 2013, Zouma played in Saint-Étienne ‘s 1–0 succeed over Rennes in the final examination of the Coupe de la Ligue. [ 10 ] Eight days late in the Derby du Rhone away to Lyon, he opened a 1–1 draw by heading Yohan Mollo ‘s corner after half an hour of play. [ 11 ] On 7 November 2013, Zouma was banned for ten-spot games following a challenge that left Sochaux ‘s Thomas Guerbert with a break right leg and a dislocate ankle. [ 12 ]
Chelsea [edit ]
2014–15 season [edit ]
Zouma playing for Chelsea in 2015 On 31 January 2014, Zouma joined Chelsea on a five-and-a-half-year contract for a transmit fee believed to be around £12 million ( €14.6 million ). [ 13 ] He remained at Saint-Étienne on loan for the remainder of the 2013–14 season. [ 13 ] On 24 September, Zouma made his first competitive appearance for Chelsea, scoring the opener in a 2–1 acquire against Bolton Wanderers in the third round of the League Cup. [ 14 ] He made his second Chelsea startle and first UEFA Champions League appearance on 21 October against Maribor, helping his team keep a clean sheet in a 6–0 win. [ 15 ] He made his Premier League debut as an added-time ersatz for Willian in the 1–1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on 26 October 2014. [ 16 ] On 4 January 2015, Zouma scored the one-third finish for Chelsea in the 3–0 victory over Watford in the FA Cup. [ 17 ] Six days late, he started in the Premier League for the first time, partnering John Terry in place of Gary Cahill and keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 home win over Newcastle United, which put Chelsea back into first place in the league table. [ 18 ] With Nemanja Matić suspended and Mikel John Obi injured, Zouma played in defensive midfield as Chelsea won the League Cup Final on 1 March after a 2–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. [ 19 ] On 3 May, he featured as a stand-in for the concluding five minutes in plaza of Willian as Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace 1–0 to win the league entitle. [ 20 ]
On 2 August 2015, Zouma was a 69th-minute substitute for César Azpilicueta as Chelsea lost 1–0 to rivals Arsenal in the Community Shield. [ 21 ] Starting ahead of John Terry, he scored his first Premier League goal on 19 September, heading in Cesc Fàbregas ‘ traverse to open a 2–0 home winnings over the lapp resistance. [ 22 ] On 24 November, as a deep stand-in for the hurt Terry, he scored his first base european goal to conclude a 4–0 acquire at Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League group phase. [ 23 ] Under interim director Guus Hiddink, Zouma regularly started aboard Terry as Chelsea ‘s imprint improved. On 7 February 2016, Zouma ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after landing awkwardly from a jump in a match against Manchester United. He required operation and was ruled out for six months. [ 24 ] In the summer of 2016, Zouma traveled and trained with the first-team during preseason. [ 25 ] Chelsea besides rejected a lend offer from Schalke 04. [ 26 ] On 24 October, Zouma made his inaugural competitive appearance after being out of action for nine months, playing 45 minutes for the Chelsea under-23 team in a 2–2 draw against Derby County. [ 27 ] On 8 January 2017, Zouma made his inaugural team rejoinder in Chelsea ‘s 4–1 FA Cup third-round succeed over Peterborough United. [ 28 ] On 4 February, he made his foremost appearance of the 2016–17 Premier League season as a ersatz in a 3–1 win against rivals Arsenal. [ 29 ]
2017–18 season : lend to Stoke City [edit ]
Zouma playing for Chelsea in 2017 Following agreeing to a new six-year condense with Chelsea, on 21 July 2017, Zouma joined colleague Premier League clubhouse Stoke City on loan for the 2017–18 season. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] On 12 August, he made his debut in a 1–0 loss at Everton. [ 32 ] In November 2017, Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross expressed his surprise that Chelsea had loaned out Zouma, who had only missed one match, against his parent club. [ 33 ] On 20 November he headed his first goal for the Potters, in a 2–2 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion. [ 34 ] Zouma played 37 matches for Stoke in 2017–18 as the club suffered delegating to the EFL Championship. [ 35 ]
2018–19 season : loanword to Everton [edit ]
On 10 August 2018, Zouma joined fellow Premier League club Everton on lend for the 2018–19 season. [ 36 ] He made his introduction on 25 August as a last-minute alternate for the injured Michael Keane in a 2–2 guide at AFC Bournemouth. [ 37 ] Zouma scored his foremost goal for Everton on 13 January 2019, a header to open a 2–0 home gain besides against Bournemouth. [ 38 ] He was sent off for dissent after the final whistle in a 1–0 loss at Watford on 9 February. [ 39 ]
Read more: Lille OSC
Read more: Lille OSC
2019–20 season : return to Chelsea [edit ]
Zouma returned to Chelsea following the passing of his lend at Everton. He made 32 appearances and scored 2 goals with the golf club. [ 40 ] On 11 August 2019, Zouma made his first appearance of the season as a appetizer in the 4–0 away defeat to Manchester United. [ 41 ] He was back on the scoresheet against Grimsby Town on 25 September 2019, in a 7–1 home acquire in the third gear attack of the EFL Cup. [ 42 ] On 1 January 2020, Zouma marked his hundredth appearance for the baseball club as Chelsea drew 1–1 to Brighton & Hove Albion at Falmer Stadium. [ 43 ] [ 44 ]
2020–21 season [edit ]
Zouma playing for Chelsea in 2021 Zouma began the newfangled season in the starting back four for Chelsea ‘s trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on 14 September 2020. He would go on to score the club ‘s third goal in a 3–1 acquire, his foremost Premier League finish in over five years for Chelsea. [ 45 ] On 6 December, Zouma headed in his team ‘s second base goal of a 3–1 win over Leeds United. The winnings put Chelsea at the top of the league table and was his fourth finish in the first ten-spot league matches of the season, which meant he had doubly vitamin a many strikes as the future highest-scoring Premier League defender. [ 46 ] Through the foremost ten league matches, Zouma had besides won 74.5 per cent of his duels, which put him among the top 20 players in Europe. [ 46 ]
2021–22 season [edit ]
Zouma ’ s last appearance for Chelsea was in their winnings in the 2021 UEFA Super Cup against Villarreal on 11 August 2021. The game finished 1-1 before being decided in a penalty shoot-out. Villarreal ’ randomness counterweight had come following a poor defensive clearance by Zouma. [ 47 ] In August 2021 he left to join West Ham United. He had played 151 games in all competitions for Chelsea, scoring 10 goals. [ 48 ]
West Ham United [edit ]
On 28 August 2021, Zouma joined West Ham United for £29.8 million signing a four-year narrow. [ 49 ] [ 50 ] On 16 September, he made his West Ham debut, in the Europa League in a 2–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb. [ 51 ] On 7 November, he scored his first goal for West Ham, the achiever in a 3–2 win over Liverpool. [ 52 ]
International career [edit ]
Zouma is a France young international having represented his nation at under-16 and under-17 level. He played with the under-17 team at the 2011 UEFA european Under-17 Championship and 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Zouma has been the captain for the french under-21 team. [ 53 ] He was character of the under-20 team that won the 2013 World Cup in Turkey. [ 54 ] In the quarter-finals against Uzbekistan in Rize, he headed the last goal of a 4–0 victory. [ 55 ] senior France director Didier Deschamps wanted to build a defense around Zouma and mate child Raphaël Varane, [ 6 ] and on 19 March 2015, he was called him up for the first time for friendlies against Brazil and Denmark. [ 56 ] He made his debut in the latter equal ten days later, a 2–0 winnings at his former club flat coat with Saint-Étienne, the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, replacing Morgan Schneiderlin for the survive eight minutes of the game. [ 57 ] After his wound for Chelsea in February, Zouma missed France ‘s host of UEFA Euro 2016. [ 24 ] He returned to the team in August 2017, replacing the injure Raphaël Varane for a World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands. [ 58 ] He was put on standby for France ‘s police squad at the final tournament in Russia. [ 59 ] Zouma earned his first France cap in over three years on 11 October 2018 as a substitute in a 2–2 friendly reap with Iceland, coming on as a substitute and winning the equalising penalty. [ 60 ] On 11 June 2019, Zouma made his first start for the France senior team, played every moment of the match and scored his first elder international goal, in the 4–0 away win over Andorra in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying equal. [ 61 ] [ 62 ]
stylus of play [edit ]
A November 2013 report by FourFourTwo noted Zouma ‘s potency, reading of the game, and antenna bearing, while mentioning his occasional lapses in concentration. [ 6 ] In January 2014, Zouma was named by british newspaper The Observer as one of the ten most promise young players in Europe. The newspaper wrote, “ Blessed with especial baron and proficiency, Zouma is besides coveted by many for his leadership qualities. ” [ 63 ] Match of the Day initiate, Danny Murphy likened Zouma to Marcel Desailly, another Frenchman who played in defensive structure for Chelsea. Writing after a absorb with Manchester City, which included a strong run and perfectly-executed sliding undertake on Sergio Agüero, Murphy noted Zouma ‘s dependability and confidence against the potent opponent, in addition to his footstep. He predicted that Zouma could be a Chelsea mainstay for years to come, and would be an ideal substitution for captain John Terry, then aged 34. [ 64 ] Ryan Shawcross called Zouma the “ ultimate defender ” for his accelerate, derail, pass, shooting and tackling, and said that Tottenham Hotspur ‘s Toby Alderweireld was the lone central defender on his flat. [ 33 ]
personal liveliness [edit ]
Zouma ‘s parents emigrated to France from the cardinal African Republic. [ 65 ] His older brother Lionel plays in the same situation, [ 66 ] and his younger brother Yoan is besides a defender. [ 67 ] Zouma is named after Kurt Sloane, Jean-Claude Van Damme ‘s character in the 1989 film Kickboxer, while his center name Happy reflects an african tradition of using positive words as center names. [ 68 ] Zouma is married to Sandra, with whom he has three children. [ 69 ] [ 70 ] Zouma is a Muslim and made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2019. [ 71 ]
career statistics [edit ]
clubhouse [edit ]
- As of match played 20 November 2021[72]
International [edit ]
- As of match played 16 November 2021[73]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team
Year
Apps
Goals
France
2015
2
0
2018
1
0
2019
2
1
2020
2
0
2021
4
0
Total
11
1
- As of match played 16 November 2021
- France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Zouma goal[73]
List of international goals scored by Kurt Zouma
No.
Date
Venue
Cap
Opponent
Score
Result
Competition
1
11 June 2019
Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra
5
Andorra
4–0
4–0
UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
Honours [edit ]
Zouma ( second from left ) celebrates winning the League Cup with Chelsea in 2015 Saint-Étienne
Chelsea
France U20
Individual