Premier League winner Kurt Zouma completes move to club once managed by Diego Maradona

Former West Ham defender Kurt Zouma has signed for UAE-based club Al Wasl.

The defender has signed a contract until the end of the current campaign.

Getty

The move comes just over a month after his contract with Romanian club CFR Cluj was terminated.

Warm welcome

Al Wasl announced the signing of the free agent on Thursday in a move that would strengthen the ‘Emperor’s’ back line in the final weeks of the season.

The club, who were managed by football icon Diego Maradona in the 2011/12 season, announced the signing on their social media platforms with an image of the defender draped in an Al Wasl shirt.

An accompanying caption read: “Kurt Zouma is now a Wasl player.”

The 31-year-old Frenchman has been linked with a host of clubs with interest from Chinese side Shandong Taishan as well as Scottish Premiership club Rangers.

The Emirati club’s director of sport is compatriot and former France defender Eric Abidal.

The ex-Barcelona star is understood to have played a key role in securing the deal.

Zouma came through the ranks at Saint-Etienne before securing a move to the Premier League with Chelsea.

He went on to win the Champions League, Premier League and UEFA Super Cup during his time at Stamford Bridge.

The Frenchman later featured for Stoke City and Everton before rounding off his time in English football with West Ham.

Getty

The move comes ahead of Al Wasl’s upcoming match against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League 2.

The first leg takes place at home on March 4 before the return in Riyadh a week later.

His move comes on the same day his former West Ham teammate Michail Antonio decided to secure a move to the Middle East with Qatari side Al Sailya.

Zouma will hope to find a level of stability at his new club after a tumultuous end to his brief spell in Romania.

The defender left CFR Cluj after playing just four games for the club.

Zouma held discussions with club chiefs to terminate his contract just four months into a two year deal that had the option for a further two years.