---
title: "Paul Merson believes Chelsea will miss West Ham signing Kurt Zouma"
canonical: "https://readwestham.com/2021/09/01/paul-merson-believes-chelsea-will-miss-west-ham-signing-kurt-zouma/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Dan Clubbe"
section: "West Ham News"
published: "2021-09-01T14:00:00Z"
modified: "2021-09-01T14:00:00Z"
---

# Paul Merson believes Chelsea will miss West Ham signing Kurt Zouma

Former Premier League attacking midfielder Paul Merson has claimed Chelsea have made a mistake in allowing [Kurt Zouma](https://readwestham.com/2021/08/27/virals-fabrizio-romano-delivers-here-we-go-on-kurt-zouma-to-west-ham/) to leave for [West Ham](https://readwestham.com/2021/09/01/virals-xande-silva-joins-nottingham-forest-on-permanent-deal/) this summer.

The Hammers recently confirmed the arrival of the 26-year-old Frenchman to the London Stadium in a deal worth a [reported](https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/transfer-news-west-ham-confirm-29.8m-signing-of-defender-kurt-zouma-from-chelsea_sto8509566/story.shtml) £29.8million.

It was expected that Zouma would be instantly replaced at Stamford Bridge by Sevilla ace Jules Kounde, a deal that [failed to materialise](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/aug/31/chelsea-close-in-on-deal-for-atleticos-saul-but-face-kounde-disappointment) in the final days of the window.

Speaking on [Sky Sports (August 31st, 10:51pm)](https://www.skysports.com/), Merson claimed the Blues may regret the decision to sell Zouma to the Irons.

> I don’t agree about letting Zouma go and not bringing anybody in. For me, the Zouma one, I think he will be missed.

Capped on [eight occasions](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/kurt-zouma/nationalmannschaft/spieler/157509/verein_id/3377) by France, Zouma earned an impressive [7.15 average Sofascore rating](https://www.sofascore.com/player/kurt-zouma/139227) from 24 Premier League outings last season.

Part of the squad that overcame Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League final, the powerful centre-back also scored [five goals](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/kurt-zouma/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/157509) in the league.

### READ WEST HAM VERDICT

Ultimately, Chelsea’s loss is West Ham’s gain and the East London club will be delighted a failure to suitably replace across the city didn’t [scupper](https://www.football365.com/news/chelsea-confident-in-securing-kounde-deal-after-zouma-sale) the transfer.

Valued at £28.8million ([Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/kurt-zouma/marktwertverlauf/spieler/157509)), before a ball is kicked it would appear the Hammers have got superb value for money.

Boasting [vast domestic and European](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/kurt-zouma/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/157509) experience, Zouma will immediately push for a starting berth in David Moyes’ side, perhaps alongside Angelo Ogbonna.