Kurt Zouma insists he is fully committed to helping Stoke avoid relegation this season but wants to return to Chelsea in the summer.
The 23-year-old joined Stoke on a season-long loan deal last summer in order to gain regular playing time in the Premier League.
Zouma signed a six-year deal with Chelsea before making the loan move and the France international insists he will return to Stamford Bridge for next season.
“People know that I’m here for one season and it doesn’t matter what is going to happen after, I hope Stoke are going to stay in the Premier League,” Zouma told The Daily Telegraph.
“My target is to go back to Chelsea, but first do it right here. I don’t want the team to go down. Like the other players, we all have to show the fans we want to stay up. There is no difference to me and the other players, we all have to fight to stay up.
“After that I hope to go back to Chelsea and play. They gave me a chance to go on loan and I spoke with manager [Antonio Conte], who agreed with that and they helped me a lot from my injury and to find a club where I can play all the time. Everyone knows I am here for one year and then I’ll go back.”
Zouma looked destined to be a mainstay in the Chelsea team for years to come after breaking into the first-team during the 2015/16 campaign before a serious knee injury sidelined him for the best part of a year.
The French centre-back has impressed at league strugglers Stoke, garnering the club’s highest WhoScored rating in the Premier League (7.24).
