L’Equipe journalist Bilel Ghazi is reporting on Saturday evening that Kurt Zouma is close to becoming a Stoke City player.
Antonio Conte doesn’t see the central defender as part of his core squad at Chelsea, and Zouma needs games having returned from a serious injury.
Therefore a loan was inevitable, but Chelsea haven’t wanted to cut ties with Zouma long term.
L’Equipe claim that Chelsea will extend Zouma’s contract by two years, before allowing him to join Stoke on loan.
That would stretch the defender’s deal to June 2021, giving Chelsea plenty of breathing space.
Info @lequipe: Kurt Zouma va prolonger avec Chelsea pour 2 saisons supplémentaires avant d’être prêté à Stoke City où il est attendu lundi
— Bilel Ghazi (@BilelGhazi) July 15, 2017
It’s stated that Stoke expect Zouma to arrive on Monday, when he would presumably go through a medical.
Stoke have been repeatedly linked with a return of Bruno Martins Indi this summer, but have been unable to agree a fee with Porto.
Martins Indi spent last season on loan at Stoke, and the arrival of Zouma could signal that the Dutchman isn’t set to return.
