Kurt Zuma is one of the most talented young central defenders of our time. The man is only 21 years old, and he has a great future ahead, if the guy can fully reveal his talent and achieve excellent results. It is possible in the future, Kurt Zuma will become one of the strongest central defenders in the world. However, all this will only be in the future - now it is a question of the past and present of the player, and more precisely - of his sports biography.
Carier start
Kurt Zuma began his career in France, where he was born on October 27, 1994. However, he grew up in a family of immigrants - his parents hail from the Central African Republic. At age nine, Kurt enrolled in the Vaud-en-Velen football academy, where he spent six years. Only in 2009 he was noticed by scouts, which led him to the larger club Saint-Etienne when he was fifteen years old. A professional contract was signed with him when he was 18 years old, that is, in 2012, but by that time he was already in full force at the core of the adult team. Kurt Zuma was incredibly talented. He quickly began to make a career - even then, many predicted a great future for him.
Play for Saint Etienne
Saint-Etienne defender Kurt Zuma in the first season, when he was only 17 years old, entered the field 23 times, scoring two goals. In the second season, he repeated the same result, but the next season was decisive for him. The fact is that Kurt was followed by many European first-tier clubs, and the French club received an offer from the English Chelsea regarding the transfer of young talent in the winter transfer window. Londoners paid fifteen million euros for the defender, but did not immediately take him to themselves - they sent him to play the season in the former club. As a result, Zuma completely spent the third season in Etienne, having entered the field in 27 matches. After that, in the summer of 2014, the 20-year-old player finally moved to London.
Going to Chelsea
In his first season for Chelsea, Zuma was not a base player, as he was too young and adapted to the new championship. Therefore, he appeared on the field in 26 matches, noting two goals. He began the second season already as a base player and played 32 matches until February 2016, when he received a serious injury - a rupture of the cruciate ligaments. This was the first serious damage that Kurt Zuma suffered in his career. The injury incapacitated him for a long time - he is still recovering. It is planned that he will be able to return to training only closer to the end of October. It is hoped that Kurt will return to his previous level and continue to develop, as well as that he will not have a relapse, as often happens after such injuries.
Team appearances
Zuma went through all levels of the youth teams of France, playing in a wide variety of age categories. And already in 2013, at the age of 19, he received an invitation to the adult team - however, he remained on the bench. As a result, the player’s debut was greatly delayed, largely due to the transition to Chelsea and due to the lack of game practice. But in March 2015, he still played his first match, substituting in a duel against the Danish national team. The second and last game of the defender for the national team to date took place seven months later - and again the Danes were the opponents. After this, the cruciate ligament was broken, and since then Zuma has not played. Therefore, he had no chance to improve his statistics of performances for the national team. Now he can only hope that after recovering from his injury he will be able to play more often for the national team - this largely depends on whether he will be used by the new Chelsea coach Antonio Conte.