Chelsea coach: Zouma is good – but he is no Desailly!

Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma has a long way to go before he can be compared with the legendary Marcel Desailly, according to the club’s goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon.

The 20-year-old’s star has risen immeasurably in his first season at Stamford Bridge after producing a number of mature performances in the heart of the Blues’ defence.

Comparisons with Desailly have since been made and, although Lollichon acknowledges that Zouma has a bright future ahead of him, the coach says that likening him to the World Cup winner is premature.

“You have to be patient, and not compare. Marcel, technique-wise, had more finesse. Kurt is in the process of developing that,” he told Offside.fr.

“There’s the understanding of the game too. Kurt is young. He has just arrived and he had a very good development at Saint-Etienne.

“He needs to work on his understanding of the game. He is already in the France squad. He is not a first-team regular, either for Chelsea or les Bleus, but he is at the top in terms of his club and his national team.

“He works hard. He is serious. He is focussed on what he has to do. Above all he is intelligent enough to do what he can do, and not to try to do too much. And that is very good.”