Barcelona have reportedly have closed the signing of Jules Kounde from Sevilla, and turned down a bid from Chelsea. Sport reports that Barcelona made a swift move to beat Chelsea to the defender, putting forth an offer of €50m up front plus €10m in bonuses.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea is on the verge of accepting defeat.
Barcelona are now getting closer to Jules Koundé. Positive contacts also in the morning, personal terms are fully agreed with Koundé – working on final bid. 🚨🔵🔴 #FCB
Chelsea are tired of waiting for the green light – ready to explore other options if it doesn’t arrive soon. pic.twitter.com/61eaBF8Cb7
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 25, 2022
As per Romano, positive contacts have been established between the parties involved, with Kounde prepared to accept personal terms with the La Liga giants.
Barcelona is supposedly working on a “last bid,” which will inevitably prohibit Chelsea from making any more advances unless Kounde changes his mind.
Chelsea are allegedly ready to begin looking at other options, with Thomas Tuchel wanting to bolster his defensive options ahead of the new season.
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Tuchel’s desire was heightened over the weekend, when his Chelsea team was defeated 4-0 by Arsenal in a friendly in Florida.
Tuchel has already signed Kalidou Koulibaly, but he still needs another player to replace Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.
Barcelona is set to pay around £55 million for Kounde, though the form of the agreement is likely to differ from that of Chelsea’s bid.
Joan Laporta, president of Barcelona, has been able to bolster Xavi’s team despite the club’s ongoing financial difficulties by selling a portion of their future broadcast revenue.
Any deal for Kounde may also put a halt to Barcelona’s pursuit of Cesar Azpilicueta from Chelsea, since Tuchel is reluctant to lose the club captain.
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