Frank Lampard Wants Kurt Zouma to Stay at Chelsea Amid Everton Transfer Rumours

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has said he wants Kurt Zouma to stay at the club this summer amid continued speculation over his future.

The France international has spent the last two seasons away from Stamford Bridge at Stoke City and Everton and was especially impressive for the latter in the previous campaign.

Zouma started on Friday for the Blues as they were defeated 1-0 by Kawasaki Frontale in a pre-season friendly. After the match, Lampard made it clear he wants the defender to be part of the Chelsea squad for the 2019-20 season, per Adam Jones of the Liverpool Echo:

"In terms of Kurt Zouma, he's a very good defender for us, very good player, very good person and professional. I want him here, simple as that.

"We are competitive with the centre-backs we have in the team, and he had a very good season at Everton, and I can understand why they want him. He's a Chelsea player, and I want him."

Zouma was a popular figure among the Toffees supporters last season, as he struck up a fine partnership in the latter stages of the campaign with Michael Keane, helping Everton earn a draw with rivals Liverpool and comfortable wins over Arsenal and Manchester United.

According to Phil McNulty of BBC Sport, Everton are interested in signing the 24-year-old on a permanent deal. In the report, it's said "the player would also be happy to return if he fails to receive assurances about first-team football at Stamford Bridge."

Tony Scott of the Liverpool Echo thinks Zouma will need to leave Chelsea if he's to get regular first-team football:

Meanwhile, BBC Sport's Dave Downie said the Toffees may be best served to begin looking elsewhere based on Lampard's comments:

Zouma has featured consistently in pre-season for Chelsea, having played some of the best football of his career at Goodison Park last term. He is a commanding presence at the base of a side, as he's physically dominant, powerful in the air and has rapid recovery pace. In addition, he is a composed presence on the ball.

Chelsea have an abundance of centre-backs to call upon, with David Luiz, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Fikayo Tomori also set to be vying for starting spots. Tifo Football looked at how Lampard might set up the defence next term with those players in mind:

With Rudiger recovering from a knee injury, at the moment Zouma appears in contention to start for Chelsea in the early weeks of the Premier League season at least. As such, it'd be no surprise if the London club were to resist any offers.

In a summer where Chelsea are unable to register new players because of their transfer ban, Zouma would give the Blues defensive depth that was absent last term. With Lampard's side competing in four competitions in 2019-20, including the UEFA Champions League, Zouma would surely get plenty of chances.