Wednesday, 10th July, 2013
Saint-Etienne president Roland Romeyer has told clubs hoping to sign Kurt Zouma to stop wasting their time for at least the next season, insisting the player is a key part of his plans.
Defender Zouma had been garnering a fair amount of interest from major clubs, at the same time as his former team-mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who eventually moved to Borussia Dortmund.
Cardiff City and Wolfsburg were the most recent names linked to Zouma, who has played a total of 46 games for Saint-Etienne, with Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle United also not far from the race, although Liverpool withdrew due to price concerns.
Aubameyang’s departure had prompted even more speculation around Zouma, even though the 18-year-old had already indicated he does not want a move away.
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And Romeyer insists he is not prepared to sell Zouma under any circumstances this season, telling Eurosport: "Zouma will remain a part of Etienne.
"He is a part of the club’s framework. I repeat: one part of this club [Aubameyang] was released this year and now he’s gone.
"We have big ambitions this season with the Europa League. [So] Kurt will continue to grow and be in Saint-Etienne colours. Next summer we’ll see whether or not he should continue his growth elsewhere."
Aubameyang went on to sign a five-year deal with Dortmund, but it means Saint-Etienne have to consider purchasing to fill the void.
But Romeyer remains calm about the situation, even if he has just lost a player who almost singlehandedly boosted the club’s European ambitions.
"I cannot give any names, because I do not want to boost the efforts of our competitors", the supremo added. "What is certain is that we have a list of players to strengthen our attack.
"Hopefully we will see the arrival of new names in this sector before the end of the week."
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