Kurt Zouma completed his move to Stamford Bridge last January from St. Etienne, remaining on loan with the Ligue 1 club, playing regular first team football for the second half of the campaign.

The French defender, 19, has now joined up with his new team-mates at Cobham, and shortly after arriving sat down with the club’s official website to discuss his move and look ahead to his time as a Chelsea player…

Hi Kurt, welcome to the club. How does it feel to finally arrive at the training ground and meet your new team-mates?

I’m really happy, this is the perfect team for me. In my opinion this is the best club in the world, with the best coach and many excellent players.

I’ve spoken to most of the players, including Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic and Demba Ba. They’ve all been really friendly and made me feel very welcome.

Tell us about your style of play…

I play mainly as a centre-back and I like the physical part of the game. I’m very good in the air, with a big leap, which I would say is probably my biggest quality.

I can also play at right-back. I’ve played there occasionally but I am most comfortable in the centre of defence.

As a youngster growing up, who were your idols?

My favourite footballers as a kid were John Terry and Mamadou Sakho. Terry is a great leader and the perfect example to young players starting out in the game.

How does it feel for you to now be a team-mate of John’s?

It’s very exciting for me, I’ve always looked up to him as a player and now I just want to learn as much as possible from him. I spoke to him briefly and he’s a very nice man.

Have you had a chance to speak to Jose Mourinho?

Yes, I spoke with him just for a short time and he explained what he expects from me. He’s the best manager in the world and I’m so happy to be able to work with him.

Over the years Chelsea have had some wonderful French defenders, including Marcel Desailly, Frank Leboeuf and William Gallas. You must be excited to be following in their footsteps…

It’s a big honour for me, Marcel Desailly was a fantastic defender, a great example, and I would love to be able to have a career like his during my time at the club. I hope I can become another great French Chelsea defender.

You’ve played for France across the younger age groups but last October you were called into the senior squad for a couple of matches – how was that experience?

I was called up for two matches, a friendly against Australia and a World Cup qualifier against Finland. It was an amazing feeling to be involved, I was a substitute in both matches and it made me want to be involved with the national side more often.

Did you watch much of the Premier League last season?

Yes, I saw a lot of English football while I was living in France, it’s very enjoyable to watch. Chelsea did well last season and hopefully we can do even better this time around. I can’t wait to get started.

You must be looking forward to testing yourself against attacking players such as Oscar, Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres in training…

Definitely, there are so many good players in our squad and I’m very happy to be working alongside them. I’ve played against Hazard before in Ligue 1, he’s such a talented winger and very difficult to play against.

How important is it for you to be playing in the Champions League?

I think it will be crucial in terms of my development. It’s the biggest competition in club football and hopefully I will be involved.

What are your hopes for your first season at the club?

Initially it will be a period of adaptation but I hope I can improve as a player, get into the team and just play as many matches as possible.