Reports | Chelsea to step up efforts to sign Sevilla defender Jules Kounde

Jules Kounde has cemented his status as one of the best defenders in the Spanish top flight since joining the club in 2019 from Bordeaux. The French centre-back has made 133 appearances for the Spanish side while scoring nine goals and registering three assists across all competitions. The 23-year-old’s impressive performances had attracted attention from elsewhere with Chelsea tabling a bid for the defender last summer although a deal couldn’t be struck as the Spanish side priced the Blues out of a transfer.

According to reports from the Mirror, Chelsea are set to reignite talks for the French defender after growing uncertain over a prospective deal for Juventus centreback Matthijs de Ligt after the centreback expressed his desire to join Bayern Munich instead. Thomas Tuchel is a keen admirer of Kounde and has urged the club to get the deal done after losing Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger to Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively. 

It is understood that Barcelona are also in the mix to acquire the defender with Kounde keen to join the Spanish giants but negotiations are at a deadlock due to Barcelona’s inability to accommodate Sevilla’s demands. Chelsea are keen to recruit defensive additions before they jet away for their pre-season tour and they will intensify their efforts to convince Kounde to choose them over Barcelona. Personal terms will not pose to be a problem for the Blues and it is understood that a bid of €60 million will be enough to convince Sevilla.