France
Which team did Kurt Zouma play for from 2015 to 2018?
Kurt Zouma Kurt Happy Zouma ( born 27 October 1994 ) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Chelsea and the France national team . Zouma began his career at Saint-Étienne , making his professional debut aged 16 , and going on to win the Coupe de la Ligue with the club in 2013 . Zouma joined Chelsea for £12 million in January 2014 , but was loaned back to the French club for the remainder of the season . In his first full campaign in England , Zouma helped Chelsea win the League Cup and the Premier League . In July 2017 , Zouma joined Stoke City on loan for the 2017–18 season . This was followed by another loan move to Everton for the 2018–19 season . Zouma represented France at several youth levels , up to under-21 . He made his senior international debut against Denmark on 29 March 2015 . Club career . Early career . Born in Lyon , Zouma began his career at age nine with Vaulx-en-Velin until he was 15 . He played as a right winger and also as a striker before switching to his current position of a defender . Saint-Étienne . Zouma joined Saint-Étienne in 2009 . On 2 April 2011 , he signed his first professional contract , agreeing to a three-year deal . He was subsequently promoted to the senior team by manager Christophe Galtier ahead of the 2011–12 season , and initially played without a name on his shirt in order to protect him from media attention . Zouma made his professional debut at 16 years old , on 31 August 2011 in a Coupe de la Ligue match against Bordeaux , playing the entire match in a 3–1 win . On 17 September , he made his Ligue 1 debut in a 3–0 loss at Lorient ; his first professional goal came on 19 November , replacing Paulão after nine minutes and finishing a corner kick to confirm a 2–0 win before half time at OGC Nice . He totalled 21 league games in his first season – 13 starts – and his other goal came on 14 January 2012 , heading Banel Nicolitas corner for the only goal against lowly Sochaux at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard . On 20 April 2013 , Zouma played in Saint-Étiennes 1–0 win over Rennes in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue . Eight days later in the Derby du Rhone away to Lyon , he opened a 1–1 draw by heading Yohan Mollos corner after half an hour of play . On 7 November 2013 , Zouma was banned for ten games following a challenge that left Sochauxs Thomas Guerbert with a broken right leg and a dislocated ankle . Chelsea . 2014–15 season . On 31 January 2014 , Zouma joined Chelsea on a five-and-a-half-year contract for a fee believed to be around £12 million ( €14.6 million ) . He remained at Saint-Étienne on loan for the remainder of the 2013–14 season . Zouma first appeared as a first-half substitute for Chelsea in a pre-season friendly against Wycombe Wanderers . He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 friendly win against Slovene club Olimpija , on 27 July 2014 . He was given the number 5 shirt , previously worn by Michael Essien . On 24 September , Zouma made his first competitive appearance for Chelsea , scoring the opener in a 2–1 win against Bolton Wanderers in the third round of the League Cup . He made his second Chelsea start and first UEFA Champions League appearance on 21 October against Maribor , helping his side keep a clean sheet in a 6–0 win . He made his Premier League debut as an added-time substitute for Willian in the 1–1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on 26 October 2014 . On 4 January 2015 , Zouma scored the third goal for Chelsea in the 3–0 victory over Watford in the FA Cup . Six days later , he started in the Premier League for the first time , partnering John Terry in place of Gary Cahill and keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 home win over Newcastle United , which put Chelsea back into first place in the league table . With Nemanja Matić suspended and John Obi Mikel injured , Zouma played in defensive midfield as Chelsea won the League Cup Final on 1 March after a 2–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur . On 3 May , he featured as a substitute for the final five minutes in place of Willian as Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace 1–0 to win the league title . 2015–2017 . On 2 August 2015 , Zouma was a 69th-minute substitute for César Azpilicueta as Chelsea lost 1–0 to rivals Arsenal in the Community Shield . Starting ahead of John Terry , he scored his first Premier League goal on 19 September , heading in Cesc Fàbregas cross to open a 2–0 home win over the same opposition . On 24 November , as a late substitute for the injured Terry , he scored his first European goal to conclude a 4–0 win at Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League group stage . Under interim manager Guus Hiddink , Zouma regularly started alongside Terry as Chelseas form improved . On 7 February 2016 , Zouma ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after landing awkwardly from a jump in a match against Manchester United . He required surgery and was ruled out for six months . In the summer of 2016 , Zouma traveled and trained with the first-team during preseason . Chelsea also rejected a loan offer from Schalke 04 . On 24 October , Zouma made his first competitive appearance after being out of action for nine months , playing 45 minutes for the Chelsea under-23 side in a 2–2 draw against Derby County . On 8 January 2017 , Zouma made his first team comeback in Chelseas 4–1 FA Cup third-round win over Peterborough United . On 4 February , he made his first appearance of the 2016–17 Premier League season as a substitute in a 3–1 win against rivals Arsenal . 2017–18 season : Loan to Stoke City . Following agreeing to a new six-year deal with Chelsea , on 21 July 2017 , Zouma joined fellow Premier League side Stoke City on loan for the 2017–18 season . On 12 August , he made his debut in a 1–0 loss at Everton . In November 2017 , Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross expressed his surprise that Chelsea had loaned out Zouma , who had only missed one match , against his parent club . On 20 November he headed his first goal for the Potters , in a 2–2 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion . Zouma played 37 matches for Stoke in 2017–18 as the club suffered relegation to the EFL Championship . 2018–19 season : Loan to Everton . On 10 August 2018 , Zouma joined fellow Premier League side Everton on loan for the 2018–19 season . He made his debut on 25 August as a last-minute substitute for the injured Michael Keane in a 2–2 draw at Bournemouth . Zouma scored his first goal for Everton on 13 January 2019 , a header to open a 2–0 home win also against Bournemouth . He was sent off for dissent after the final whistle in a 1–0 loss at Watford on 9 February . 2019–20 season : Return to Chelsea . Zouma returned to Chelsea following the expiration of his loan at Everton . He made 32 appearances and scored 2 goals with the club . On 11 August 2019 , Zouma made his first appearance of the season as a starter in the 4–0 away defeat to Manchester United . He was back on the scoresheet against Grimsby Town on 25 September 2019 , in a 7–1 home win in the third round of the EFL Cup . On 1 January 2020 , Zouma marked his 100th appearance for the club as Chelsea drew 1–1 to Brighton & Hove Albion at Falmer Stadium . 2020–21 season . Zouma began the new season in the starting back four for Chelseas trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on 14 September 2020 . He would go on to score the clubs third goal in a 3–1 win , his first Premier League goal in over 5 years for Chelsea . On 6 December , Zouma headed in his sides second goal of a 3–1 win over Leeds United . The win put Chelsea at the top of the league table and was his fourth goal in the first ten league matches of the season , which meant he had twice as many strikes as the next highest-scoring Premier League defender . Through the first ten league matches , Zouma had also won 74.5 per cent of his duels , which put him among the top 20 players in Europe . International career . Zouma is a France youth international having represented his nation at under-16 and under-17 level . He played with the under-17 team at the 2011 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship and 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup . Zouma has been the captain for the French under-21 side . He was part of the under-20 team that won the 2013 World Cup in Turkey . In the quarter-finals against Uzbekistan in Rize , he headed the last goal of a 4–0 victory . Senior France manager Didier Deschamps wanted to build a defence around Zouma and fellow youngster Raphaël Varane , and on 19 March 2015 , he was called him up for the first time for friendlies against Brazil and Denmark . He made his debut in the latter match ten days later , a 2–0 win at his former club ground with Saint-Étienne , the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard , replacing Morgan Schneiderlin for the last eight minutes of the game . After his injury for Chelsea in February , Zouma missed Frances hosting of UEFA Euro 2016 . He returned to the squad in August 2017 , replacing the injured Raphaël Varane for a World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands . He was put on standby for Frances squad at the final tournament in Russia . Zouma earned his first France cap in over three years on 11 October 2018 as a substitute in a 2–2 friendly draw with Iceland , coming on as a substitute and winning the equalising penalty . On 11 June 2019 , Zouma made his first start for the France senior team , played every minute of the match and scored his first senior international goal , in the 4–0 away win over Andorra in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match . Style of play . A November 2013 report by FourFourTwo noted Zoumas strength , reading of the game , and aerial presence , while mentioning his occasional lapses in concentration . In January 2014 , Zouma was named by British newspaper The Observer as one of the ten most promising young players in Europe . The newspaper wrote , Blessed with exceptional power and technique , Zouma is also coveted by many for his leadership qualities . Match of the Day pundit , Danny Murphy linked Zouma to Marcel Desailly , another Frenchman who played in defence for Chelsea . Writing after a draw with Manchester City , which included a strong run and perfectly-executed sliding tackle on Sergio Agüero , Murphy noted Zoumas reliability and confidence against the strong opponent , in addition to his pace . He predicted that Zouma could be a Chelsea mainstay for years to come , and would be an ideal replacement for captain John Terry , then aged 34 . Ryan Shawcross called Zouma the ultimate defender for his speed , jump , passing , shooting and tackling , and said that Tottenham Hotspurs Toby Alderweireld was the only central defender on his level . Personal life . Zoumas parents emigrated to France from the Central African Republic . His older brother Lionel plays in the same position , and his younger brother Yoan is also a defender . Zouma is named after Kurt Sloane , Jean-Claude Van Dammes character in the 1989 film Kickboxer , while his middle name Happy reflects an African tradition of using positive words as middle names . Zouma is married to Sandra , with whom he has three children . Zouma is a Muslim and made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2019 . Honours . Saint-Étienne - Coupe de la Ligue : 2012–13 Chelsea - Premier League : 2014–15 , 2016–17 - Football League Cup : 2014–15 - UEFA Champions League : 2020–21 - FA Cup runner-up : 2016–17 , 2019–20 , 2020–21 France U20 - FIFA U-20 World Cup : 2013 Individual - Chelsea Young Player of the Year : 2014–15