Kurt Zouma says he doesn’t hold a grudge against Thomas Tuchel and revealed he was ready for a new challenge in the summer after tumultuous seven-year spell at Stamford Bridge.
The Frenchman was signed by Jose Mourinho in the summer of 2014 but was rarely able to cement a place in Chelsea’s defence under a succession of managers.
A serious knee injury played a major role in his career stalling while he spent time out on loan at clubs like Stoke, Saint-Etienne and Everton in a bid to get his career back on track.
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Zouma had started to make huge progress under Frank Lampard but after he was sacked in January, the defender struggled to win the faith of Thomas Tuchel and was left out of the team which won the Champions League last season.
After a summer of intense speculation, Zouma joined West Ham in a £29m deal and has quickly established himself as a major component of David Moyes’ upwardly mobile side.
Explaining his decision to join West Ham, Zouma told the Evening Standard: ‘I wanted something different. A challenge. We won a title last year with Chelsea and I wasn’t in the starting XI at the end. I wanted to be somewhere where I could compete for that, playing week in, week out.
‘Things happen. It is destiny. A new manager came in and he made choices and everything was working well for us. I wasn’t in the starting XI as often as I would expect to be. This is the manager’s choice and he made them right, obviously. As a player I have to accept it. This is in the past.
‘I spoke to the manager of West Ham and he convinced me to come and join this beautiful team. I spoke to the manager and it wasn’t very long, but what he said to me was his views for me and it was very clear.
‘You know when you have that conversation with the manager it gives you confidence, it gives you a big boost and that is what I needed and that is why I came here.
‘What they did last year was just brilliant. They deserved where they finished, playing in the Europa League, that’s where I think West Ham should be playing every year and that’s the target now.
‘This is a club with big ambitions. We know that the Premier League is going to be difficult, there are many, many teams that can compete for the Champions League and Europa League — obviously West Ham are one of those teams.’
