Chelsea have tabled a 65m euro bid for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde amid increasing optimism that a deal can be struck for the Frenchman this summer, 12 months on from when the same proposed transfer fell through.
Barcelona are also thought to be monitoring the Frenchman, though at present sources seem to indicate that it is the Blues who have the upper hand in negotiations, with Barca having to wait until Thursday to table a bid, when their second economic lever gets activated.
By contrast, Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel have already made a bid for the 23-year-old centre-back, who operates largely on the right side of central defence in Southern Spain.
That bid, according to Goal, reaches 65m euros, which is close to the asking price of the Spanish side who are looking to receive nearly 100m euros for both Kounde and Diego Carlos, who joined Aston Villa earlier in the summer for a fee of £28m (33m euros).
Chelsea have offered Sevilla €65million for Jules Kounde 💰 pic.twitter.com/p6gHfBltDv
— GOAL (@goal) July 20, 2022
Barcelona not out of the race but fading
Chelsea have, of course, already been stung once this transfer window by Barcelona, who hijacked their move for Raphinha that they in turned had hijacked from Arsenal.
And, while the Blaugrana continue to be interested in Kounde, there is a general feeling that the Blues could well win this battle, with Sevilla keener to sell abroad than to a direct rival and Chelsea’s personal terms currently significantly better.
Sevilla and Chelsea now have a verbal agreement in place for Jules Kounde. Advanced talks continuing to finalise. Kounde has already agreed personal terms with #CFC and they are more preferable than the offer from Barcelona. Barca haven’t yet made a formal counter-offer.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) July 20, 2022
