West Ham United captain Kurt Zouma is expected to seal a move to UAE Pro League club Shabab Al Ahli, according to multiple UK reports.
Zouma, 29, has been in talks with the Dubai club over a proposed move with the defender's transfer expected to be made official in the coming days.
The Frenchman has one year left on his West Ham contract and is one of the club's highest earners.
The Hammers have spent big this transfer window, including the £40 million signing of centre-back Max Kilman from Wolves, and are thought to be looking to claw back some of that outlay.
The Sun newspaper reported that Zouma will leave on a free transfer, with Shabab Al Ahli covering the final 12 months of his contract as part of the deal.
The move would make Zouma, who has 11 France caps, one of the most high-profile recruits to the UAE in recent times, bucking the trend of overseas players being recruited to Saudi Arabia.
Zouma has made more than 100 appearances for West Ham since a £29m move from Chelsea in 2021
He made headlines in February 2022 when video footage showed him kicking his pet cat was released.
Zouma later pleaded guilty in court to two counts of animal cruelty and given 180 community service.
West Ham condemned Zouma's actions at the time – fining him £250,000, which they claimed was the maximum penalty they were able to hand out – but he still continued to be picked by then manager David Moyes.
Barring any breakdown in negotiations, Zouma's move to the UAE will bring to an end his 10-year spell in English football.
During his time at Chelsea, he won two Premier League titles, a Champions League and a League Cup during – which was interspersed with loan moves to Stoke and Everton.
After moving permanently to West Ham in 2021, he won the Europa Conference League with the Hammers in 2023.
Shabab Al Ahli were last crowned champions of the UAE in 2022/23. They finished runner-up to Al Wasl last season, trailing their Dubai rivals in the final standings by nine points.
The club are coached by former Portugal and Poland manager Paulo Sousa.
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Company%20Profile
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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FIGHT CARD
Fights start from 6pm Friday, January 31
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) v Ahmed Saeb (IRQ)
Women’s bantamweight
Cornelia Holm (SWE) v Corinne Laframboise (CAN)
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (JOR) v Vitalii Stoian (UKR)
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) v Ali Dyusenov (UZB)
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) v Delfin Nawen (PHI)
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) v Mohamed El Mokadem (EGY)
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Ramadan Noaman (EGY)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Reydon Romero (PHI)
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Juho Valamaa (FIN)
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) v Austin Arnett (USA)
Super heavyweight
Roman Wehbe (LEB) v Maciej Sosnowski (POL)
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
