Kurt Zouma has reportedly issued Chelsea with an ultimatum that he is not willing to be used as part of a trade deal for Sevilla’s Jules Kounde.
This is according to 90min, who say the Stamford Bridge chain of command have received a reaction of reluctance from Zouma to be involved in this potential swap.
Plenty of suggestions have arisen over the past few days that the French defender is to be used as bait to try and snatch Kounde from Sevilla.
The Spanish side want cash and quite a lot of it, a fee the Blues are not planning to meet in its entirety.
Instead, they would prefer to offer some money plus a player in return.
That swappable part appears to be Zouma, who is currently fourth or fifth choice centre-back at Chelsea.
Strike whilst the Irons are hot
However, the 26-year-old is apparently not keen on a move to La Liga and would much prefer to remain in London.
Which nicely leads on to the next chapter of this transfer story.
A report from the Telegraph claimed that West Ham United have now shown interest in Zouma.
David Moyes has European football to contend with this season and would like some extra experience bodies in his squad.
West Ham are aiming to give their city rivals £25m (Telegraph) for the centre-half, £13m more than he was bought for back in 2014.
If Zouma did join the Hammers, it would make a dent in Chelsea’s pursuit of Kounde.
Either they would have to pay up in full or try and present another member of Thomas Tuchel’s team.
90min said the Blues had another five names in mind: Davide Zappacosta, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Matt Miazga, Kenedy and Malang Sarr.