A regular for Stoke City since his arrival on loan from Chelsea, Kurt Zouma hasn’t been able to help stop the Potters’ free fall down the Premier League table as Mark Hughes’ side currently sit 17th with the worst defence.
Conceding 39 goals in their first 18 games of the season isn’t exactly what we’re used to seeing from Stoke, and something needs to change if they want to avoid slipping into the relegation zone before the new year.
Down Zouma’s end, the Stoke defender has apparently been offered the chance to try something else between now and June, according to But! Football Club in France.
Desperate for a new centre-back, his former club Saint-Etienne are said to have contacted the 23-year-old about a potential return to where his professional career started, but, currently in court against them, he isn’t interested.
The Chelsea owned player is trying to get around €1.7m out of the Ligue 1 side, money he says they owe him from unpaid wages, bonuses and paid holidays from back when he was under contract there.
While Stoke might not be having the best of times right now, there’s been no indication Zouma is unhappy there, and there’s every possibility he sees returning to Saint-Etienne as a step in the wrong direction for his career.
After all, he’s getting the minutes in the Premier League at bet365 Stadium ahead of a potential World Cup spot in Didier Deschamps’ squad.
