Why Chelsea should fear Barcelona in Kounde transfer race

FT Desk

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
• 3 min read

Chelsea have long looked like favourites to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla, but Barcelona could be ready to beat the Blues in the race for the France defender according to reports in Spain.

Chelsea have a clear and present need for a top-quality centre-back, with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen set to leave on free transfers to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively this summer.

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Their departures would leave Thiago Silva as the only senior central defender at Stamford Bridge, and while Trevoh Chalobah has come on leaps and bounds since returning from his loan spell in France with Lorient, Thomas Tuchel would be delighted to add some experience in the position.

Kounde is under contract with Sevilla until June 2024, and director of football Monchi is understood to want at least €60-70 million of the France international's €80m release clause - a fee Chelsea should be in a better position than Barcelona to pay once Todd Boehly's takeover is approved later this month.

However, Mundo Deportivo report that Barcelona have an ace up their sleeve, with Sevilla interested in several Barca players to act as a makeweight in any potential move to the Camp Nou for Kounde.

"Barca's intentions are to include Sergino Dest and Clement Lenglet, who signed for Barca from Sevilla in the summer of 2018," they report.

Dest and Lenglet a valuable makeweight

Dest and Lenglet combined would account for around €50m of any potential fee for Kounde, and they could be the perfect pair of players to plug any defensive gap left at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Kounde is a centre-back who can also fill in on the right. Sevilla club captain Jesus Navas - now a right-back having been a winger at Manchester City - is 37 in November. Lenglet fills the former role with minimum fuss, with Dest's profile accounting for any doubts about Navas's ongoing viability as a wing-back.

Barcelona are also reported to be on the verge of raising €400m by selling percentages of their Licensing & Merchandising divisions as well as Barca Studios, making a Kounde move yet more viable for them.

Robert Lewandowski also looks set to join Barca from Bayern Munich, and what seemed like a sure acquisition for Chelsea until recently may not be quite so safe after all.