Three players Chelsea need to sell to land Kounde

Robin Bairner

23 Aug 2021 10:22 CDT
3 min read

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

Chelsea’s long-awaited signing of Jules Kounde from Sevilla could be just around the corner, with the club in the process of brokering several deals that will allow the France international centre-back to sign for the Stamford Bridge side.

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Indeed, the Blues have long had Kounde lined up as their second major addition of the summer after Romelu Lukaku.

Doubts had arisen over whether the deal might be completed in part because Chelsea were slow at making room in the squad for him and also because of the emergence of Trevoh Chalobah in recent weeks.

However, a deal appears to be closer than ever as Thomas Tuchel is set to be unburned of a handful of fringe players.

Chelsea close to moving three players on

Kurt Zouma is perhaps the highest-profile player that Chelsea have been seeking a solution for. The experienced defender has been at the club since arriving from Saint-Etienne in 2014. His time, however, is running short.

West Ham are closing in on a move for the France international with updates on that case anticipated soon.

Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma — © ProShots

Meanwhile, Chelsea are set to raise a further €17.5 million by offloading Ike Ugbo to Genk and Davide Zappacosta to Atalanta.

Rather than have these players join the ranks of their extensive loan army, the Blues are set to cash in to raise funds for Kounde.

Chelsea will make a €2m loss on Zappacosta, who they signed for around €12m from Roma in 2020, but such has been their success in terms of selling their academy prospects, they can more than afford that.

This is typified by 22-year-old forward Ugbo, who has never made a senior appearance for the club but will land them €7.5 when he moves back to Belgium, where he spent last season with Cercle Brugge.

Chelsea’s model, then, continues to work smoothly for the club and will secure them a quality player in the form of Kounde.