West Ham set to axe 'broken' star in bid to reduce wage bills

West Ham are reportedly open to considering bids for their current club captain Kurt Zouma in the upcoming transfer window in a bid to reduce their wage bill. According to TalkSport (via Claret and Hugh), Zouma - who is one of the club’s highest earners - could well be shown the London Stadium exit sign this summer with the club viewing him as one of their more expendable players.

The 29-year-old Frenchman missed much of last season’s campaign due to a long-standing knee injury and has continued to be plagued by the problem. While the defender had previously attracted interest from teams in the Saudi Pro League, it is now a concern that he will not pass a medical at any club.

If Zouma were to depart the London Stadium club, it appears West Ham have already eyed a potential replacement in Fulham’s centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo who they could sign on a free transfer. The French defender reportedly earns around £125,000-a-week while the Nigerian Adarabioyo has been reported to be on £47,000-a-week.

Starting his career at Saint-Etienne in the French Ligue 2 division, Zouma first joined the Premier League in 2014 when he signed for Chelsea in a fee believed to be around £12m. He was immediately sent back out on loan to his former club before also spending loan spells at Stoke City and Everton. After playing 151 games for the Blues, scoring ten goals, Zouma headed east of the capital and joined West Ham for a fee reported to be £29.8m. He is currently on a four-year contract and, although he was made club captain following Declan Rice’s departure, it appears David Moyes’s side have little intention of opening up extension talks.

The Hammers are currently preparing to take on the Bayer Leverkusen - unbeaten in all competitions this season - in this evening’s UEFA Europa League quarter-final clash but are set to do so with Jarrod Bowen and Edson Alvarez with the former out of action due to a back injury and the latter serving a suspension.