Why Chelsea are confident of beating Barcelona to Kounde
Robin Bairner
- 18 Jul 2022 11:33 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea are optimistic that they will beat Barcelona to the signing of Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde.
The Stamford Bridge club have seen their defence transformed this summer, with Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger departing to Barca and Real Madrid respectively. There is also the prospect of the Catalans taking Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso off their books too.
The Blues, meanwhile, have secured Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli but are still short on numbers at the back so another centre-back is high up Thomas Tuchel’s shopping list. And while PSG’s Presnel Kimpembe certainly figures in his thoughts, it is Kounde who is his top priority, with Matthijs de Ligt heading for Bayern Munich.
Although Barcelona have been a major player in the Kounde transfer saga for as long as the London side, they are thought to be very much in second place in the race currently.
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Finances, of course, come into play in this. Barcelona may be about to active their second lever by selling off another portion of their television rights, but they are not in a position to invest in their squad immediately, unlike Chelsea.
Sevilla, too, have their cashflow problems and they want to sell as rapidly as possible in a bid to reinvest in their squad. Kounde is expected to be their big summer sale to facilitate this, although Diego Carlos has already left for Aston Villa.
Kounde’s employers find their hands tied a little by history in this case. They denied the France international centre-back the chance to move to Chelsea last summer, when they demanded his exit clause be met. Now, the player is eager to be on his way and already has a strong relationship with the London club.
Barcelona, meanwhile, are not expected to give up on Kounde, with Xavi eager to talk the defender into moving to Camp Nou. There are, however, factors that are driving him to Chelsea.
