Serie A giants Roma are keen to sign Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma this season, but instead of paying €35m transfer fee as claimed by many reports, the Giallorossi are only willing to bring him to Rome on a season long loan. 

This summer, Italian clubs have splashed money on securing high profile names. The likes of Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan have spent big to sign top players. Roma, unlike their rivals, do not have the financial power to sign a 20-year-old defender for €35m, especially after completing deals for Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah. 

In order to sign Dzeko, Roma had to sell Alessio Romagnoli to AC Milan, mainly to balance the book, and the Serie A giants are under big pressure now to sign a good centre-back. 

Zouma, the highly rated French defender, could be a good option for Roma, but it is highly unlikely he will be sold by Chelsea. He is only 20 and gradually developing into a top defender at the Bridge. He is currently the third choice central defender at the club, but could go on to replace John Terry in the long run. 

Last season, he made 15 league appearances for the Blues, and this season he could get even more games under his belt. With Terry unimpressive so far (Mourinho subbed him at half time against Man City) Zouma could be trusted with more responsibilities by his manager Jose Mourinho.

Italian website TMW claim that Roma are in talks with Chelsea over the transfer, mainly to sign him on loan for the rest of the season.

Chelsea are reportedly tracking Brescia’s highly talented young defender Enrico Marconi. The London giants are following him closely but not offers or bids being made so far.