Scouting Chelsea's Rumoured January Transfer Target Kurt Zouma

Despite Jose Mourinho’s assertions that he is happy with his squad, Chelsea could be in the market for defensive reinforcements in January. Having set a Premier League record for the fewest goals conceded in his first campaign back in 2004-05, seeing his side ship six goals in two games will have given The Special One cause for concern.

It is uncertain whether David Luiz has a future at Stamford Bridge, while Gary Cahill is still not Mourinho’s first choice. John Terry is having an excellent season so far, but with the emphasis on the long-term future of the club, Chelsea will need to replace him sooner rather than later.

According to Dominic Fifield of The Guardian, Saint-Etienne centre-half Kurt Zouma is on Mourinho's radar. The 19-year-old made his debut for the Ligue 1 side aged just 16 and has been on the watchlist of Europe’s major clubs ever since.

At 6'2", Zouma’s strength in the air is obvious. He has won 80 percent of his aerial duels so far this season and made 102 clearances in 11 games. Alongside his passing accuracy of 86 percent, Zouma has made 11 tackles with a success rate of 91 percent.

However, he is currently serving a 10-match ban for this horrendous challenge on Thomas Guerbert, which left the Sochaux player with a broken leg.

Zouma got his first call-up to the full French squad in the last international break and has been praised by national team manager Didier Deschamps, who sees him as a future captain of Les Bleus. With such enormous potential, it seems that a move away from Saint-Etienne will come sooner rather than later.

According to Tim Simon of FourFourTwo, Zouma’s agent told Eurosport that the youngster “would be better off on the bench at a big club.”

Chelsea are not short of talented young centre-backs, with Nathaniel Chalobah out on loan and Nathan Ake and Tomas Kalas still available. However, Mourinho likes to have two players for each position, and at £13 million, it seems that Zouma could be the perfect fit for The Special One's new Chelsea dynasty.

Statistics via Squawka.com

Follow @agirlintheshed