OPINION
Everton’s on loan defender Kurt Zouma has enjoyed a wonderful start to the season alongside Michael Keane, and the Toffees should be starting to make enquiries about a permanent deal.
The 6ft 2in France international [Source: Transfermarkt] has excelled this term, coming into the team late on in the draw with Bournemouth at the end of August and playing every minute of every game since.
He remains a Chelsea player long-term, of course, but manager Marco Silva must already be considering making a bid to sign him on a full-time basis.
The impact that Zouma has made this season has been huge, as he’s formed a tremendous partnership with Keane that has brought out the best in the Englishman after an inconsistent first season on Merseyside.
His no nonsense approach has been a god-send for a Toffees team that still struggles to keep the opposition out. Zouma’s arrival hasn’t completely fixed the backline, although that’s more to do with Silva’s attacking style of football than poor form on the defence’s part.
Silva wants his team to play on the front foot and take risks going forward. That’s great, and it’s seen some fantastic football played at Goodison Park this season, but it will inevitably have a negative impact on a defence that often finds itself overrun.
That’s why players like Zouma are so important. He can do a bit of everything at the back but, most importantly, his bread-and-butter is defending.
The 24-year-old loves to hold off the opposition and that’s been evident this year. That’s exactly what Silva needs alongside the more expansive Keane, and is part of the reason why they have formed such a successful partnership.
Whether Chelsea would be open to selling the player or not remains to be seen, but it’s not as if they particularly need him at this moment in time.
Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz are firmly entrenched as Maurizio Sarri’s first choice duo at the back, with Andreas Christensen and Gary Cahill backing them up. There’s no real place for Zouma there.
Everton need to use the relationship they have with the Blues from Romelu Lukaku’s signing many years ago to engineer a permanent deal for Zouma. If they do they could secure the heart of their defence for the next decade.