How much will Chelsea, Barcelona & Man Utd target Kounde cost?
Karan Tejwani
- Updated: 18 May 2022 17:54 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea, Barcelona and Man Utd are all fighting it out to sign Sevilla centre back Jules Kounde.
The frontrunners are Chelsea, who wish to bolster their defensive options as they look to replace Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
The two defenders are set to depart this summer following the expiry of their contracts, and Chelsea have been lining up replacements for the pair.
The Blues made a shortlist of players, and it has emerged that Kounde, 23, is the likeliest to move to Stamford Bridge this summer.
However, both Barcelona and Man Utd are also in the race.
Barca may struggle to pay the transfer fee and could offer Clement Lenglet or Sergino Dest in exchange to get the price down. Man Utd won't have any such problem with costs but are not as attractive as Barcelona and Chelsea as they are not in the Champions League.
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How much will Jules Kounde cost?
To complete the transfer, Sevilla have always asked interested clubs to meet the release clause of €80 million set for the player, and Chelsea are seemingly willing to pay it to get the deal done.
In the last few weeks, it emerged that Kounde is eager to leave Sevilla this summer, having been angered by the club’s stance last year when they refused to let him leave.
Despite the frustration from previous year’s transfer window, Kounde has remained professional and has been important to his side as qualified for the Champions League next season.
Kounde joined Sevilla in 2019 from Bordeaux and played an important role in the club winning the Europa League in 2020.
He also made his debut for France in 2021 and has earned nine caps for his national team in that period, even earning a spot on the squad that played at Euro 2020.
Chelsea are still considering Jules Koundé as one of the potential targets, he’s among 3/4 options on the CB list. Tuchel’s big fan of Koundé since two years. 🔵 #CFC
Sevilla always asked for €80m as release clause price - while Chelsea will lose both Rüdiger & Christensen.— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 2, 2022
Over the last few weeks, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has spoken about the difficulty his club will face in replacing Rudiger once he departs.
“He is a key figure and will stay that way until the end of the season, but it is disappointing,” Tuchel said about Rudiger.
“We will miss him a lot. He gives courage in the dressing room. The kind everyone is afraid of, but the kind to play 50-55 games at an outstanding level.
With the potential signing of Kounde from Sevilla, that difficulty may be eased.
