Chelsea are confident that they will beat Barcelona to the signature of Sevilla defender Jules Kounde after making an improved £55million offer on Wednesday.
The Blues are in the market for another defender after signing Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli last week. They have been looking to sign Kounde since last summer, and they reportedly are close to agreeing on a deal for the Frenchman.
According to Sportsmail, Sevilla want to accept Chelsea’s bid over that of Barcelona as it offers straight cash, while Barca were proposing a player-plus-cash swap involving Memphis Depay.
The Catalan side have been one of the strong contenders for the signature of Kounde, but they do not have the financial pull Chelsea enjoys now.
The report also says that Kounde said farewell to Sevilla fans as he left the club’s training ground on Wednesday and hopes a deal is agreed on Thursday with personal terms already in place.
The 23-year-old France international became Chelsea’s defensive target after the Blues missed out on Paris Saint-Germain’s Presnel Kimpembe and Manchester City’s Nathan Ake.
Their move for a new defensive pairing came after they lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen earlier this summer, and he has turned his attention to Kounde once more. With Thiago Silva in the later stages of his career, Tuchel’s side believe that in Kounde, they have a defender that can play top-level football for many years.
The 23-year-old can also cover at full-back, and his arrival would be timely as Barcelona step up talks to sign Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
