West Ham 'hope £26m deal for Chelsea's Kurt Zouma will be completed for their next league game'

West Ham hope to sign Kurt Zouma for £26million in time for their next Premier League game against Crystal Palace on Saturday, according to reports.

Sportsmail revealed this week that the fee was agreed between Zouma's current club Chelsea and the Hammers, but a move has been delayed due to the French defender's £125,000-a-week wage demands.

There is a hurry from both West Ham and Chelsea to complete this deal as the Blues need to raise funds to sign Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, while the Hammers need defensive reinforcements to build on their solid start to the season.

And according to The Sun, David Moyes' side are confident Zouma can complete his medical and join up in time with the Hammers squad by the time they face Palace this weekend.

Zouma will need to be registered by West Ham by midday on Friday to be eligible for the match at the London Stadium this weekend.

The Hammers currently top the Premier League after back-to-back wins against Newcastle and Leicester City, with Moyes' men scoring four goals in each of their two opening games.

And while Michail Antonio is currently leading the top-flight's goalscoring charts with three goals alongside Bruno Fernandes, Moyes is keen to bolster his defensive options as West Ham look to build on their top six finish last season.

Moyes currently has Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson as his first-choice defensive options with Issa Diop on the bench, but is looking for that additional quality to take West Ham to the higher level.

Zouma played 36 times in all competitions last season for Chelsea but also scored five Premier League goals for the Blues.

Overall, he has amassed 151 Chelsea appearances since joining the club in 2014 from Saint-Etienne, while Zouma also has two full seasons on loan at Everton and Stoke City as top-flight experience.

But the Blues deem Zouma surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge with Thomas Tuchel playing Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta as his centre-halves this season, with Trevoh Chalobah and Thiago Silva as back-ups.

Chelsea will enter the market for another centre-back this window with Sevilla star Kounde, valued at £68m, deemed to be the Blues' No 1 defensive target in the final week of the window.