West Ham United have continued to show just how prepared they are to sign Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma this summer. The Hammers are going all out for the France international defender and are willing to bring him to the London Stadium but have been facing several challenges in their attempts to lure the Chelsea man away from Stanford Bridge.

Zouma has been told by Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel that he is no longer part of his plans and that he should look for another club he will join and play for this season. Zouma started attracting interest from West Ham since it was first revealed that the Blues would be interested in a swap deal with Sevilla that will see Jules Kounde go the other way.

Kounde, another France international central defender, is catching the eye of Tuchel and has been a target for the German manager for quite some time now but there has just not been any breakthrough in the negotiations between Chelsea and Spanish La Liga outfit Sevilla for the transfer of the defender to Stamford Bridge.

Sevilla first told Chelsea that they would be interested in a cash-plus-player deal that would see the Blues pay over £30 million and also give them Zouma in exchange for Kounde, but Zouma was reportedly against the agreement and so it scuppered the deal. Chelsea told their defender that he would be involved in the swap deal, but he rejected the offer and said he wanted to join West Ham.

West Ham have now been alerted by the player’s remarks and have since been readying a hid for him, but they have now come up with their first offer. According to reports, West Ham are willing to pay £30 million for the defender but currently await a response from Chelsea and the player.