If anyone had predicted that Chelsea would be in the Capital One Cup final with Kurt Zouma starting in the midfield, most would have called them crazy. Yet here we are, a day after the final, celebrating a title on the back of a good team performance, and a sure fire individual performance from Chelsea’s young Frenchman. While no one can question Zouma’s potential, very few believed that he would be contributing this often to the Blues 2014-2015 campaign. Labeled the long-term replacement for Chelsea captain, John Terry, Zouma has often found himself paired with him at the back. While opportunities for youngsters like Zouma are traditionally few and far between under Mourinho, the Special One has taken a liking to the young CB and has began to incorporate him into his starting XI more often as the season progresses.
What makes Zouma so special? Well, there are a number of physical attributes that he possesses. The young Frenchman is 1.90 m tall and has a strong ability to jump and win balls in the air. Zouma also has tantalizing pace, which allows him to keep pace with fast strikers, and recover quickly, after him or a teammate gets beaten. However, this young man’s maturity is the standout factor for me in his current success. He has come into a well-experienced Chelsea side, brimming with talent, and has looked the part all along. Being able to easily assimilate into one of the best squads in Europe is no easy task and Zouma, at just 20 years old, has done so with ease.
There is no doubt that Kurt Zouma has a bright future ahead of him. What’s makes him so intimidating is the fact that he is so young. Zouma is only going to get better. Just thinking about his early preseason performances and his performance in the latter stages of the League Cup, there is no comparison between the two. Obviously, Zouma is gaining confidence and skill from training with such elite players. Although learning from Gary Cahill, he has also done enough for people to start to ask questions of Cahill’s selection ahead of Zouma. This is a mighty task to achieve, just ask David Luiz and Tomas Kalas. While Zouma might be paired with Cahill later in his career, he might have even proved that Chelsea need another CB signing in the next few windows to give Cahill even more competition. While this remains to be seen, there is no doubt that Zouma will have a place in Chelsea’s starting XI for many years to come. Especially with his new found ability to play in the midfield. While most were initially skeptical of Mourinho’s decision to start Zouma in this position, Zouma did his very best to prove these critics wrong. He completed 100% of this attempted tackles from the midfield, while simultaneously picking out several good passes. Zouma looked very comfortable at CDM, where he had less time to distribute the ball than at his typical CB role. Using his speed to patrol the area that Matic typically dominates, Zouma not only justified his selection, but impressed as one of the top performers in the game.
In the post game press conference, Jose labeled Zouma “our new Marcel Desailly”, a brilliant compliment for the young Frenchman. However, when asked about this comparison, Zouma immediately refuted the claim saying,
“That is a lovely thing, what the boss said, (But) it is too early to say that because Marcel Desailly is a legend of Chelsea. I have only played about 10 games and I am 20 years old. I loved to watch him play. He was an amazing performer and important for us. I have to keep working hard. I have to improve every day. I have never met Marcel Desailly but one day I hope I will see him.”
This could not have been a better response and is exactly what a manager and a fan base wants to hear. Zouma knows there is work to be done, but he is up to the task. He has already proved he can be successful and effective on the biggest of stages at just 20 years old. If he continues to progress this rapidly, the future will be very bright for the Kurt Zouma, and Chelsea Football Club.
For more from Tyler Strauss, find him on Twitter: @tyler_strauss_
