Youngster has only just returned to action following a 10-game ban for breaking an opponent’s leg.
Premier League champions Manchester United have pulled out of the running to sign in-demand St Etienne centre-back Kurt Zouma after discovering that arch rivals Chelsea had already agreed offered the Frenchman a five-year contract to move to Stamford Bridge in a deal worth £12m at the end of this season, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
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The Red Devils have been keeping close tabs on the highly rated central defender for some time now, although initially they had assumed that the player would be joining the west London club instead.
However, after believing that the Blues’ interest in Zouma may have cooled of late, United then decided to make contract with Zouma to inquire about the possibility of him moving to the Theatre of Dreams in the current January transfer window, only to be informed that the reason Chelsea’s interest in the Frenchman had supposedly cooled was because they had already agreed a deal in principle to sign the 19-year-old this summer.
And it is understood that Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho has already spoken to the defender over the phone to discuss his switch to the capital next season and go over the terms of his bumper five-year deal at the Bridge.