Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for Chelsea centre-back Kurt Zouma recently and if he were to join Nuno Espirito Santo's side this summer, he could prove to be a serious upgrade on Eric Dier.

What's the word?

According to Telefoot journalist Julien Maynard, both Spurs and Everton are keeping close tabs on the French centre-back, who is expected to leave Stamford Bridge.

The 26-year-old was a regular under Frank Lampard in the first half of the 2020/21 season but lost his regular place in the first team, following the appointment of Thomas Tuchel, so if they bring in another centre-back this summer, then Zouma could well be the one to leave.

Better than Dier?

Last season saw Zouma make 24 appearances in the Premier League, contributing five goals and averaging an impressive 7.07 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Dier, meanwhile, would average a shocking 6.66 rating from WhoScored across his 28 appearances in the Premier League, with only young Joe Rodon scoring lower of Spurs' centre-back options.

This suggests that, if Fabio Paratici were to seal a deal for Zouma this summer, then it could be Dier who loses his place in the first-team, after some less than impressive performances in recent seasons under both Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho.

Although he struggled for regular game time under Tuchel, Zouma's performances under Lampard suggest that he could be a very strong addition to Espirito Santo's squad this summer, as the former England midfielder was full of praise for his centre-back's abilities last year, saying:

"The eye-catching thing is the number of goals he is scoring from set-pieces and for me, that is a result of more confidence and more belief in himself.

"He has always had the size and strength, and now you see him in all parts of the pitch really - aerially he is a real threat and he is doing his job. I think a lot of the individual improvement or development, he had injuries and because of how his career went, he has been out on loan a couple of times.

"He trains every day, he doesn’t miss a day, he wants to do extras, he wants to work, he wants to do better, and those things to me are just absolutely fundamental to how players improve. And at the minute the level he is playing at week in week out is brilliant and long may it continue - he deserves it."

If he could replicate that sort of attitude and form with Spurs, then there is no doubt that he would be a success with the Lilywhites, so Paratici should definitely be looking to get a deal done with Chelsea.

And, in other news... Tottenham edge closer to Takehiro Tomiyasu signing