Kurt Zouma has been touted to be the replacement of Chelsea’s current captain, John Terry. Zouma, like Terry, is both physically strong and a powerful player in the air as well. In his debut versus Bolton Wanderers in the Capital One Cup, the former St. Etienne defender scored the opening goal in order to help his side come out as victors when the full time whistle blew. So why is Zouma the perfect replacement for Terry?
1) He is young and experienced
Zouma is 19 years old and has played over 50 games at senior level with most of them being with his previous club, St. Etienne. Even Didier Deschamps, the France National team manager, has touted him to potentially be the next captain for France. His way of playing is impressive considering he is only 19! Zouma is both technical and extremely powerful as a defender. A bit like David Luiz, except Zouma doesn’t dribble until he loses the ball and isn’t as erratic either. He is the equivalent of John Terry when Terry himself was under the tutelage of Marcel Desailly, another French centre-back.
2) He is an animal-
Like Terry, Zouma is also a threat from set pieces. Zouma’s first goal for Chelsea was a header from a set piece as well. His height and physique also help add to the fact that he is indeed a danger in the air. He is the stereotypical Premier League defender. The man can run fast for a centre-back, he can read the game as well as any 19 year-old can, he can outmuscle almost anybody except maybe Costa, and most importantly: he will do defend his side, he will even break another player’s leg. He is also well known for clearing the ball according to whoscored.com.
All in all Zouma seems like the next JT or Desailly. He has great leadership qualities and maybe if it wasn’t for hierarchy at the club he would order the players around even more. Hopefully he has the chance to show Mourinho throughout the rest of the season that he is ready to take a part in the starting XI.
