Manchester United are also interested in the central defender.
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Chelsea’s hopes of signing highly rated young St Etienne centre-back Kurt Zouma have hit a stumbling block after his club claimed that the Frenchman would not be allowed to leave in the January transfer window for anything less than £18m, according to reports in the Daily Mirror.
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The west London club have been heavily linked with the France international for some time now, with Blues head coach Jose Mourinho having even made a personal phone call to the player to let his interest be known.
And it was the self-styled Special One’s intention to buy Zouma this month, before then loaning the 19-year-old straight back to the Ligue 1 outfit for the rest of this season.
However, those hopes have now been hit after Mou and the Blues were told that Zouma will cost them a whopping £18m to buy in January, with les Verts co-president Roland Romeyer saying: “Some clubs have launched a bid for the player, but we will not change our strategy.
“There have been discussions for Zouma with English, Italian and French clubs, but he will not be leaving this month unless we find an agreement with some of the potential buyers.
“If not, he will have to wait until the summer. We are under no obligation to sell.”
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