Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma is demanding a substantial pay rise in order to make the switch to West Ham, according to reports in the English media.
The Hammers are believed to have agreed a £26m fee for the 26-year-old but the defender is said to be demanding a wage of around £125,000 a week; a figure that would make him the club’s highest earner.
Some fans on Twitter don’t believe Zouma deserves to be given such a high salary, while others feel it is simply the going rate for getting players from clubs like Chelsea:
Doesn’t deserve to be the highest paid player at the club so he can do one
— Mark David (@markdavid_91) August 24, 2021
Also a good indicator who’s moving purely for money, he’s only on 46k a week now
He’s a joker asking for over 100k a week Imo
— Adam #GSBout (@adambrown93) August 24, 2021
The cheek of it thinking he can command more at West Ham than what he’s on in a big money club like Chelsea.
I won’t be disappointed if he don’t want to play for us for what he’s currently on he can do one! We should only have players who want to play for us!— lyns (@crushed422) August 24, 2021
If his wage demands are true and we do pay him over 100 grand a week it’s gonna upset the likes of coufal and rice even more dcc would be cheaper.
— West ham United fan account (@WesthamUnitedf7) August 24, 2021
Got to be honest this is why we can’t shift yarmolenko and struggled to get rid of Anderson he ain’t worth 120 a week
— Pel (@pel1980) August 24, 2021
He will get £110.000 per week up from £47.000 but he is a top player and big lad and wants to remain in London. He will do us well and will be a great asset ⚒⚒⚒⚒
— Bobby Del Churchills (@ChurchillsDel) August 24, 2021
I disagree. He’s on good wedge with Chelsea which would put him right into the pack with his peers in our team even if we gave him a slight bump. He has for some reason decided he wants all the money to play for us?
Walk away if he can’t get real.— G Man (@GrazaWhu) August 24, 2021
If he was already earning £125,000 a week at Chelsea, his demands would be understandable but, the fact he is expecting a sizeable increase on a relatively small salary, suggests he may not be that interested in making the move to the London Stadium.
West Ham have been burned in recent years by handing sizeable contracts to the likes of Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko so they will be hesitant about offering a bumper deal to Zouma.
