Why Chelsea should forget De Ligt and focus on Kounde

Robin Bairner

27 Sept 2021 19:05 BST
3 min read

Chelsea transfer target Jules Kounde playing for Sevilla in La Liga — © ProShots

Chelsea are in the hunt for a centre-back having missed out on Sevilla defender Jules Kounde at the end of the summer transfer window.

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Thomas Tuchel’s side had been expected to land the France international, particularly after offloading Kurt Zouma to West Ham.

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The move broke down over the Blues’ refusal to meet Sevilla’s €80 million valuation of Kounde, which also represents the player’s release clause.

As such, the Stamford Bridge club are looking at alternatives to the young Frenchman, with Juventus’ Matthijs de Ligt a prominent target.

De Ligt, however, would be a weaker addition to Kounde.

The evidence: Why Kounde is a smarter signing

The two players have similar profiles. According to SciSports’ data, both strongly have the characteristics of ball-playing centre-backs, although Kounde has the advantage of being more versatile in that he can play right-back.

De Ligt is taller than Kounde, but as has been previously shown, the Sevilla man remains a strong force aerially despite his lack of height.

Kounde, however, has a higher SciSkill score, which suggests that he is currently the better player. De Ligt had enjoyed a more explosive start to his career, but his progression has stalled since moving to Juventus.

© ProShots - Kounde v De Ligt's SciSkill Scores

Although he is tipped to become the better player, there is little between the two, particularly when the uncertainty range is taken into account.

Meanwhile, De Ligt has an asking price that that is far in excess of Kounde. According to a report in the Sunday Mirror, Juventus want €120m for the Netherlands star – 50% more than Kounde could be acquired for.

This would be a Premier League record move if it were to be completed at such a price.

According to FootballTransfers’ valuations, the two players are closely matched. A fair asking price for Kounde is €71.2m, a little below his release clause with Sevilla, while De Ligt is worth €75.2m – far, far less than Juventus are demanding for their player.

As a result, a move for Kounde ahead of De Ligt offers Chelsea far better value for a player who is likely to remain a similar standard as the Juventus star.