Chelsea had quite a mixed start to the season but since the defeat to Arsenal, Chelsea have won 5 games on the bounce. In the same period, they have scored 16 goals and conceded none. That is quite an improvement and huge credits must go to Antonio Conte for stabilizing the ship at Stamford Bridge after it was wrecked last season by Mourinho. Chelsea looks to be title contenders again and they must ensure this kind of momentum doesn’t disappear over the course of the season.
Cezar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill have been Conte’s preferred options at the back. He does have a few other players at his disposal in John Terry and Kurt Zouma.
Kurt Zouma – rated at €27m by the CIES Football Observatory – has gone from strength to strength since making the move from French football, where he was with Saint Ettiene. Having made his debut at the age of 18, he went on to play there for 3 seasons, featuring in 63 league games, scoring 4 goals in the process. Such form didn’t go unnoticed as big clubs came calling. In his last season at Saint Ettiene, Zouma was a Chelsea player by February as Chelsea had agreed to a deal to sign him and then loan him back to his parent club for the rest of the season. Zouma finishes the season in France and moved to London for the commencement of the new season.
Blessed with exceptional power and technique, Zouma is also well renowned for his leadership qualities. He made a good start to his time at Chelsea. Jose Mourinho used him sparingly when he saw and this aided Zouma’s development in the side. After Jose Mourinho got sacked, Zouma got more of a run under interim coach Guus Hiddink. He usually started alongside Terry and this seemed to help the Frenchman’s confidence.
Everything was going well until February when Zouma ruptured the cruciate ligament in his right knee after landing awkwardly from a jump against Manchester United. He was out for six months and that effectively ruled him out of contention for Euro 2016 which was hosted in France, his home country. He required surgery and underwent the procedure and started the long process of rehabilitation.
There has been a change of guard at Chelsea over the summer. Italian manager Antonio Conte has come in and after a few match days, he had the team playing like how he wants them to. The Blues are showing exceptional class and putting on some of their best overall performances in the recent past. All this can be credited to a change in formation by the manager. As previously mentioned, the Blues have now kept 5 clean sheets on the run. In the same time, they have scored 16 goals at the other end of the pitch. Such form has seen them turn into title contenders once again and they find themselves in second place.
But with such defensive solidarity in place, will Zouma get onto the pitch any time sooner? He has to work incredibly well in training to convince Conte and replace one of the three that are playing for Chelsea week in, week out. He recently made his first competitive appearance in over 10 months as he played for a Chelsea U-23 side. Zouma will be helped by the fact that even the youth teams at Chelsea are now playing the 3-4-3 formation. A few more appearances for the fringe teams and he could get back to his best in terms of match fitness. With the qualities he possesses, Conte will find it hard to not include him in his plans sooner or later.