Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma desperate to cement place in France squad for Euro 2016

Kurt Zouma is targeting a place in France's squad for Euro 2016. The 21-year-old defender has been a regular part of the Chelsea team this campaign and is hoping a strong finish to the club season will earn him a spot in Didier Deschamps's line-up.

Chelsea currently occupy 14th position in the Premier League table and sacked title-winning manager Jose Mourinho in December 2015. Yet Zouma looks back on the year with positive memories.

"I am very proud to be at Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world," he told the club's official newsletter. "I'm very happy and feel I have improved a lot. In 2015 I had a lot of chances to play, played in some big games and won two titles, so I am happy with the year on a personal level."

Zouma said he hopes his performances between now and the end of the Premier League season will be enough to earn him a place in the France squad. The Chelsea defender, who already has two caps for his country, said: "It's a big year for me personally, there are the Euros in France and of course I want to be there in the squad so I have to keep working hard with Chelsea, improving myself in training and playing games.

"The tournament is at home in France, we want to win and be a very strong team, just like we do with Chelsea. There are many more matches to win in 2016 and the new year has started well. Let's keep it up."

The Chelsea defender also recalled his personal highlight of the past 12 months, which came during the Blues's 2-0 win against cross-city rivals Arsenal in September 2015.

He said: "The highlight I think was the London derby at home against Arsenal this season, when I scored my first league goal for the club and one of the best in my career so far for sure. I celebrated the goal in a big way because we weren't good in the table but we were desperate to win the game and I was very, very proud."