“Physically, he was a monster” – Goalkeeper recalls “impressive” West Ham player’s breakthrough

Despite everything that has happened off the pitch, Kurt Zouma remains a starter for West Ham United under David Moyes.

He has started all but one of their games in the Premier League to date, scoring a goal in the process, and he continues to show why his career has gone well from a very young age.

The West Ham defender was picked up at a young age by Chelsea back in 2014 from AS Saint-Etienne for €15m or so, before being sent back there to finish the season.

He was contracted to the Blues until the summer of 2021, when the Hammers decided to spend €35m on him to bolster their backline.

He also boasts 11 caps for France, and this hasn’t come as a surprise for many who played with him at a young age, like Troyes goalkeeper Jessy Moulin, who was alongside him at Saint-Etienne.

He told Peuple Vert: “Kurt Zouma, I remember, I played a reserve game when they decided to bring him up to the professional. He was then playing there. I was there, he was very young, he must have been 16 years old. I was the goalkeeper, I remember a kid, he was so good… 

“Physically, he was a monster, he jumped, he was impressive, he was fast, technically, he was on point. We felt that the explosion at professional level wasn’t going to take long, and after that, we know the rest. He exploded. A lot of maturity.”

Since joining West Ham, Zouma has played 47 games in all competitions, scoring two goals and assisting another.