Chelsea are reportedly close to completing a £12.5m deal for St Etienne centre-back Kurt Zouma.

According to Sky Sports, the 19-year-old defender is set to sign a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge, and will be immediately loaned back to the Ligue 1 side for the remainder of the season.

Sky sources understand that Chelsea are close to completing the signing of Kurt Zouma from St Etienne. http://t.co/3fso1415Ak

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 30, 2014

Zouma has attracted plenty of interest of late, with the young defender putting in some powerful displays in the heart of the St Etienne defence.

Read more – The Transfer Lens – Zouma to Chelsea

Named one of the ‘Most Promising Young Players in Europe’ by the Guardian, a list that includes the likes of Julian Draxler and Adnan Januzaj, Zouma has been earmarked by current France manager Didier Deschamps as future captain material.

If the deal goes through as expected, the £12.5m fee would take their total spending this month to over £45m, which would see them become the highest spenders this January, having already spent heavily on Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah.

José Mourinho’s phone call to Kurt Zouma made the difference for Chelsea. Well done. He is only 19 but a future world class defender #cfc

— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) January 30, 2014

What do you think Do you rate Zouma Let me know in the comments below…