Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma believes he possess the wherewithal to fit inside manager Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 system.
The 22-year-old made his first appearance of the season in the Blues third round FA Cup tie against Peterborough at Stamford Bridge.
A promising talent when he initially arrived the central defender sustained a serious knee injury last year but is now looking ahead.
“We are working a lot in training, we do a lot of tactical work and we watch a lot of videos so it’s going really well,” he told the club’s official website before this weekend’s game.
“I have a good relationship with the manager and we talk a lot with each other. He talks a lot to all of the players and it’s easy to understand the tactics because he’s always right behind us, encouraging us, that makes it easy to learn.
“I played a few games for the Under-23s using that system which was good for me. When you watch videos and work on the tactical side in training it’s much easier to take in.
Watching the players from the bench allows you to learn a lot and I always talk to the boys about the games. They’ve been playing so well and I’ve been very focused and watching closely.”
Prior to his setback, the Lyon native was establishing himself as a regular presence in the heart of Chelsea’s defence.
His impressive displays earned him a first international cap in France’s win over Denmark on March 2015.
Since arriving from Saint-Étienne in the summer of 2014, the Chelsea No.5 has made 59 appearances across all competitions, while scoring four goals and creating a further two.
Last season, he missed only two of the club’s first 25 matches in the top- flight as they endured an awful title defence.
He returns with the Blues sitting five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
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