HomeTeams - PLChelseaThe Significance of Kurt Zouma at Chelsea

The Significance of Kurt Zouma at Chelsea

Very few people connected with Chelsea football club expected a young, prodigious defender like Kurt Zouma to not only sign for the club but also stay and fight for his place in a squad that is home to arguably the best back four in the Premier League, and one of the best in Europe. The 20-year old made the switch from St.Etienne in France – the land of Marcel Desailly, with whom he draws plenty of comparisons with, to Chelsea for a very good fee around £12 million in 2014. He has made 11 league appearances since, and has had it difficult in terms of breaking the Cahill-Terry duopoly at the heart of Chelsea’s back four, but his sheer size and the ability to get himself about anywhere on the pitch and getting stuck in often, which you need to in the Premier League, has allowed Jose Mourinho to use him in another area that has helped him reap two of the ultimate prizes in English football this season showing signs of what could lie ahead for him at the football club in the seasons to come.

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Kurt Zouma – The Center Back at St. Etienne

So what made him earn his move to a bigger club, greener pastures in Chelsea managed by one of the best managers in world football? If we look at his best season in France, the 2013/14 season for the French giants St.Etienne, his most productive campaign where he made 24 appearances at centre-back, producing displays that illustrated the inherent quality the footballer possessed, the untapped potential that warranted a bigger stage, the raw talent that needed molding.

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It could be understood that Zouma is one of those out and out defenders analysing the numbers he’s hit with regard to the general defensive actions he involves himself in every game. An average of 9 defensive actions per game with a major chunk of those being clearances (88%) shows his willingness to clean up things at the back when they tend to get messy. A total of 184 clearances and 14 interceptions grace his 24 appearances in Ligue 1 that season add to that a remarkable 57% success rate when it comes to tackles (17/30). His aerial ability at his tender age aided by his physicality can be evident form the fact that he’s enjoyed a massive 75% success in aerial duels (53/71) which might have been a major contributing factor to bringing him to the Premier League, often characterised by its physicality.

Chelsea – The Present and Underlying Future

After his ‘dream transfer’ to London, he was expected to go out on loan as so many young players do at Chelsea to get themselves the much needed playing time, prove themselves there and get sold to another club for a fairly hefty fee, thus ensuring a good return on investment. But that was not meant to be the case with the Frenchman as Zouma was made to stay, fight for his place in the starting eleven while the Frenchman has not only worked his way up to becoming the club’s third choice centre-back but also chipped in with filler roles in specialist positions designated with specific duties where he’s exceeded expectations of the fans and the manager.

One such role was assigned to him when league leaders Chelsea took on an in-form Manchester United at home in a crucial clash that pretty much confirmed Chelsea’s status as champions, reducing the magic number to 9 (number of points required to win the league). Chelsea won the battle of wits and ground out an important 1-0 win in which although Hazard made the key contribution in terms of scoring the winning goal, the Frenchman playing a sacrificial role, proved to be a rock in front of the defence alongside Matic where he also marked United’s dangerous outlet in Fellaini out of the match, almost nullifying his growing aerial threat in games. During the game, he made 5 clearances and achieved a 60% tackle success while all of them coming on the lethal left flank of United where most of their attacking play takes place. Though he was aerially outplayed (just 17% success) on the day by the towering Belgian, Zouma seemed to have kept him at arm’s length for most part of the game, ensuring Chelsea maintained their slender lead till the final whistle.

Zouma - Tackle map v Man United

That performance against Manchester United did get noticed and some much deserved praise from his teammates as midfielder Cesc Fabregas and club captain John Terry were quick to acknowledge the potential they had at their disposal and the slow realisation of it. Fabregas said,

“We had to put someone on [Marouane] Fellaini, especially for the long balls, so yes our style changed, I thought Zouma did extremely well.”

While skipper John Terry who must have identified Zouma’s mettle more than anyone else called him ‘different class’ after their 1-0 victory against United. He said,

“Different class with him and Matic sitting there we realised Fellaini was a big threat so him and Matic it was down to them and I thought they done a job on him today.”

After a tough yet successful initiation into the club and the Premier League there’s little doubt that the Frenchman is destined for great things at Chelsea and his national team. With plenty of years at the very top ahead of him, he could only get better playing and learning alongside the likes of John Terry and following the successful blueprint for a French defender at Chelsea laid out by Marcel Desailly himself. But whether or not he’d go on to make his personal dream of winning the Ballon D’Or a reality remains to be seen.

Aashish Murali
Aashish Murali
I can bore you to tears.
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