STEVEN NZONZI OFFICIALLY RETURNS TO STOKE CITY
Steven Nzonzi, 36, has formally returned to one of his former haunts in England ten years after quitting the team. The 2018 World Cup champion for France formally agreed to a one-year deal with Stoke City on Friday. He has played for the team for three seasons before.
The defensive midfielder hopes to help Stoke advance from the EFL Championship this time around, since they were in the Premier League during his last tenure there. The Potters were demoted from the Premier League in 2017–18 while playing in Serie A for AS Roma, and they haven’t been back since. Nzonzi, who has 20 caps for Les Bleus, just finished playing for Konyaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig the previous season. When he replaced N’Golo Kanté (34) after 55 minutes in the 2018 World Cup final against Croatia, he had his best moment wearing a French shirt and helped France maintain the victory.
The Le Garenne-Colombes-born midfielder spent three seasons in Spain with Sevilla after leaving Stoke City years prior, and the team won the UEFA Europa League in 2015–16. Additionally, he stopped at Al-Rayyan, Stade Rennais, and Galatasaray. Throughout his career, he has played 37 games for Amiens in Ligue 2 and 39 games for Rennes in Ligue 1. Before relocating to Stoke, he had played for Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League. After finishing two points above the relegation line in the previous season, Stoke has been lingering near the bottom of the Championship table for a few seasons. On Saturday, Nzonzi and Stoke will host Derby County to kick off the season.
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