Statistics Show Stoke Defender Kurt Zouma Could Be Knocking on the Door for International Starts

A show of statistics has emerged which suggest that Stoke City star Kurt Zouma could soon be in line to challenge for a starting berth at international level.

The defender, on loan at the Bet365 from Chelsea, has been quietly impressive for the struggling Potters so far this season, and registered his first goal of the campaign against Brighton on Monday.

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He has started all but one match in the Premier League so far under Mark Hughes, which will make for pleasing news for Blues boss Antonio Conte, and the youngster has been turning out some great performances if this new set of stats are anything to go by.

The Frenchman was placed alongside compatriot centre-halves Presnel Kimpembe, Raphael Varane, Laurent Koscielny and Samuel Umtiti in a comparative list.

Zouma is revealed to have the highest percentage of duels (presumably aerial) won with 76.2%, which is marginally ahead of Umtiti in second.

He also has a respectable interceptions per match stat at an average of 1.7, which is just behind Koscielny and Umtiti.

The former Saint-Etienne prospect, who has two caps for Les Bleus, is also leading the way in successful tackles with an impressive 87.5%, which is just ahead of Varane.

From this set of stats it's probably safe to assume that if he continues in the same vein and manages to get starting for Chelsea next season, then an opportunity to stake his claim to start regularly for France is only round the corner.