Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma has said that he wants to be playing regularly with the Blues in order to enhance the prospects of making the national team for Euro 2020. The France international was recently called up for the European qualifiers in June following a successful long stint with Marco Silva’s Everton.
Speaking to reporters, Zouma indicated that he has worked hard to get into contention for the national side and he wants to continue making a good impression such that he can represent Les Bleus at next summer’s European Championships, he said: “That is very important for me. It was one of my targets to get into the France team. I had been there before and wanted to come back. “I managed to do that. Now the target is to play at the Euros – but to be there you have to be playing at your club. So I am working very hard – and let’s see what is going to happen.”
Zouma has spent the past two campaigns on loan with Stoke City and Everton, but it appears unlikely that he would go through the same route this summer. Blues boss Frank Lampard has already confirmed that he wants to work with the 24-year-old and that should prove a blow for the Toffees, who have expressed the intention to land the defender on a permanent deal.
In pre-season, Zouma has been a regular presence at the heart of the defence and he could get the chance of making the starting XI alongside David Luiz for the league opener. Still, nothing is assured and he needs to produce a consistent level of performance to ward off the competition from Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, who is currently recovering from a knee problem. Chelsea start their league season with an away game at Manchester United.
