Kurt Zouma and Samuel Umtiti are the two names being linked witn Roma to replace the 23 year old defender Antonio Rudiger.
Chelsea, Liverpool, PSG are all showing interest in the young German who recently earned a place in the provisional German squad for the Euros.
Kurt Zouma had a good start to his Chelsea career after his move from St. Etienne in France, but his form has dipped in recent months which caused Didier Deschamps to turn to Sevilla’s Adil Rami.
Deschamps has further baffled a lot of fans all over the world by excluding Lyon defender Samuel Umtiti from even the provisional squad. Umtiti enjoyed a good 2015-16 season under Bruno Genesio as well as a good 2014-15 season under his predecessor Hurbert Fournier.
Umtiti along with a host of Lyon players – Lacazette, Fekir and Grenier – have been linked with moves abroad after impressing scouts with their performances. It would not be the first time Roma would be dealing with Lyon since the two clubs facilitated the transfer of Mpou Yanga-Mbiwa last year after Roma found his replacement in Rudiger.
The left footed 22 year old Frenchman is valued at approximately 20 million euros by the Ligue 1 club and has featured in 38 games this season for the Les Gones. While Umtiti will be a straightforward cash transaction, the negotiations regarding Zouma might be trickier as Chelsea is interested in Rudiger.
Other than the possibility of a cash plus player deal, it is believed by Davide Stoppini (Gazzetta dello Sport) that Sabatini might use the 21 year old’s injury prone nature as a bargaining chip to lower his price. Zouma was slowly becoming a part of the Chelsea team only to be thwarted by an anterior cruciate ligament injury in February.
