Newcastle "Ask" About Availability Of Chelsea's International Defender

Newcastle United have made an enquiry about Kurt Zouma's availability at Chelsea, according to an Italian journalist. Emanuele Giulianelli tweeted the seemingly far-fetched rumour on Friday that the Magpies have asked the Premier League champions about the availability of the France international centre-back this summer. Although a permanent deal would be extremely unlikely, Jose Mourinho is believed to have been considering allowing Zouma to go out on loan this summer in order for the 20-year-old to gain some first-team experience. https://twitter.com/EmaGiulianelli/status/622018816097296385 Interestingly, Newcastle had looked to tie up a deal for Zouma when he was at Saint-Etienne back in both 2013 and 2014, only for Chelsea to offer £12 million for the 6ft 3in centre-back and blow the Magpies' bid out of the water. And, although Zouma replaced Gary Cahill in the heart of the Blues defence for a large portion of last season, he was usurped by the England defender once more towards the backend of the campaign. Mourinho is a huge fan of Zouma and believes he will develop into a top-class centre-back, but experience in defence is something the Portuguese prizes so he may allow the Frenchman to leave in the short term. Having started his career at St-Etienne, Zouma made 73 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, scoring four goals, between 2011 and 2014 before moving to Chelsea. Then, last season, Zouma made 28 appearances for Chelsea and scored twice. He has also been capped once by twice. Newcastle need centre-backs, of that there is no secret - and Zouma would be quite an acquisition if this seemingly outlandish rumour came to fruition. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow whatculture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.