Napoli want Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma in January
Serie A side Napoli are preparing a January swoop for Chelsea centre-back Kurt Zouma, according to Calciomercato.
Napoli are set to lose £60m-rated defender Kalidou Koulibaly, a reported Chelsea target, in January to the African Cup of Nations where he’ll be representing Senegal and are on the look out for reinforcements.
It’s believed that Zouma is atop their wishlist but Chelsea are unwilling to let him leave.
The 22-year-old got off to a great start to life at Chelsea and looked like he was going to nail down a place in the side before suffering an ACL tear back in February which has forced him to miss the Blues’ last 32 games.
Zouma has returned lately to play for the U23s but doesn’t look close to a first-team return.
Antonio Conte is favouring the back three right now and even John Terry can’t get a game in the side with Cesar Azpilicueta being favoured alongside David Luiz and Gary Cahill in the defence which makes it hard to really see where Zouma fits in right now.
It’s been touted that perhaps a loan move could be best for the Frenchman if he’s not in Conte’s immediate first-team plans but Napoli are eyeing a permanent move.