Tottenham have renewed their interest in Chelsea centre-back Kurt Zouma, a player who is valued at £25m by the Blues and has already been the subject of recent interest from West Ham.
Zouma’s Chelsea future grew uncertain in the second half of last season when Thomas Tuchel restored faith in Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, both of whom had previously fallen out of favour under former manager Frank Lampard.
Zouma has since also fallen behind homegrown talent Trevoh Chalobah in the pecking order and was an unused substitute for Chelsea’s opening game of the Premier League season on Saturday.
Chelsea had initially hoped to use Zouma as a makeweight in an approach to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla. But while a deal on Kounde’s side appeared close, Zouma himself was not keen on the idea and made it clear to the club hierarchy that he prefers to stay in London.
A potential switch to West Ham later fell through when the Hammers considered Chelsea’s asking price too steep. An initial fee of £20m was mooted, but 90min understands that the Stamford Bridge club are standing firm on their valuation of £25m.
Sky Sports has now reported that Zouma, who first arrived in English football in 2015, has made his way back onto Tottenham’s transfer radar having been linked with the Blues' London rivals earlier this summer and a year ago, and is among a ‘number’ of defenders they are considering.
The Frenchman’s aforementioned preference to remain in London could help Spurs in their pursuit if they are willing to meet the asking price in a way that West Ham have not been.
Spurs have already brought in Argentine centre-back Cristian Romero on an initial loan from Atalanta this summer, but Toby Alderweireld has been sold and Juan Foyth has turned last season’s loan at Villarreal into a permanent transfer.
Romero made his debut as a late substitute against Manchester City on Sunday and is widely expected to be a regular starter once fully fit and up to speed. Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Joe Rodon and the versatile Japhet Tanganga are the other options available as things stand, although Sanchez's future is uncertain.
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Source : 90min