The 20 year-old is certainly giving Chelsea fans, and perhaps Mourinho, food for thought after another impressive display against Watford in Sunday’s FA Cup fixture.
Kurt Zouma joined the Blues in the summer after a fee of £12.5m was agreed back in January 2014. Being watched by several top European clubs before his move last year, it’s clear to everyone that has seen the boy play that there’s something significantly promising about him.
The capped French international has a leap to tower over any forward and a certain quickness about him that suggests he could do the job on a top European stage.
The defender has featured in 10 of Chelsea’s games this season, although a couple of those have been from the bench. He netted on his debut against Bolton and again in Saturday’s game, and looks like he could be a real handful in the opposition box from corner kicks.
Zouma’s performance on the weekend sparked a debate over who deserves to be starting in a Blue shirt as John Terry’s central defensive partner.
Cahill was particularly poor in the Blues’ recent trip to White Hart Lane, and may face a short spell out of the side if the 20 year-old continues to impress the Chelsea boss.
We’ve seen from his performances so far that he is definitely capable of dealing with tough situations, and he’s not afraid to throw his body in where it hurts – as we witnessed in Chelsea’s Capital One Cup tie at Derby.
However, Chelsea fans will certainly know that Mourinho is not necessarily instrumental in bringing through youth players into Premier League games; although Zouma has not come through the academy his lack of experience in big games may be enough to put Mourinho off the idea of giving the defender a run in the side.
The French international has been impressive when paired with John Terry at the back, and who better to learn from? The worry may be that once Terry decides to hang up his boots (despite the day seemingly moving further and further away – particularly if the captain continues to pop up with vital goals like he has done in recent games) will the Blues be left with Cahill and an inexperienced Zouma, or will Zouma be at a level at which he is capable of taking up the position at the back?
Earlier in the season Mourinho assured Zouma of his future at Chelsea, so it would seem there will be plenty more performances to enjoy as the 20 year-old flourishes into a potential rock at the heart of Chelsea’s defence.
Would you like to see Zouma start more games in the Premier League? Or do you feel it’s too soon?
