Kurt Zouma

Kurt Happy Zouma is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for English Premier League club Chelsea and the France national team.

Zouma began his career at Saint-Étienne, making his professional debut aged 16, and going on to win the Coupe de la Ligue with the club in 2013. Zouma joined Chelsea for £12 million in January 2014 but was loaned back to the French club for the remainder of the season.

He made 21 league appearances in his first season in senior football and became a key member of the St-Etienne side by the start of 2012/13, helping them win the League Cup with a 1-0 win over Rennes in the final.

Zouma was handed his debut for France by former Chelsea midfielder Didier Deschamps in a 2-0 friendly win over Denmark in March 2015, at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard ground he had previously called home during his time with St-Etienne.

However, an injury forced him to miss Euro 2016 on home soil and he had to wait until August 2017 for his return to the squad and was on the longlist for their squad at the following year’s World Cup but missed out on the final squad.

However, he didn’t get back on the pitch at the international level until he came on as a substitute against Iceland after that tournament. His first international start came in June 2019, when he marked the occasion with his first goal for France as they defeated Andorra 4-0 in Euro 2020 qualifying.