Have Chelsea given up on dream signing Jules Kounde?
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 27 Jun 2022 22:01 BST
- 3 min read
Jules Kounde has been top of Chelsea's transfer wish-list for over a year now, but the Frenchman may not end up moving to Stamford Bridge.
A move from Sevilla to Chelsea was all-but signed last summer until the Spanish side decided to up their asking price at the last second to an amount the Blues weren't willing to pay for his services.
After an entire summer of discussions with the player and the club, the move fell through.
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Instead, Thomas Tuchel kept faith with the man who'd been occupying the spot intended for Kounde during pre-season, Trevoh Chalobah.
The Englishman had spent the previous year on loan at Lorient, and impressed enough during Tuchel's first summer at the club to earn himself a spot in the starting XI on the opening day of the Premier League season.
However, it was still expected that Kounde would eventually come to Chelsea, just 12 months on from when planned.
With Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both leaving on free transfers, signing a player of Kounde's calibre and quality is needed, but Chelsea may yet look elsewhere. Despite over a year of courting, Kounde and Chelsea may never happen.
He seemed like the obvious candidate to replace Rudiger once the Germany international announced his decision to leave the club and join Real Madrid, but a deal hasn't been agreed.
With personal terms signed off last summer, the only issue is the transfer fee that Sevilla are demanding. Yet, there's been radio silence and it seems as though Kounde is now more likely to join Barcelona, who are also interested.
De Ligt to Chelsea
Weeks into the summer window and Chelsea have already switched their focus to Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt.
Kounde remains on their radar, but according to GOAL's Nizaar Kinsella, the Dutchman is now the club's first choice, following Todd Boehly's arrival.
Given the extortionate fee it cost Juventus to sign De Ligt from Ajax in 2019, Chelsea will be expected to pay handsomely for his services, which is why they have already presented the idea of a player-plus-cash deal involving Timo Werner.
AS have reported that in Boehly's meeting with Jorge Mendes in Portugal, in which Cristiano Ronaldo's name was a topic of conversation, Kounde was also mentioned. Mendes has reportedly helped Sevilla with a number of deals in recent years, and it's believed that a similar scenario could occur here.
However, it seems clear that De Ligt is now Chelsea's priority, and with Raheem Sterling and Ousmane Dembele both wanted, it seems unlikely the Blues will be able to afford Kounde as well.
The Frenchman could end up at Stamford Bridge this summer after all, but it seems as though Chelsea have put a player once deemed their dream signing to the back-burner.
