According to transfer news on ESPN, Sevilla are willing to negotiate with Chelsea over a potential cut-price deal for Jules Kounde in January.
The 23-year-old centre-back has been on the radar of Thomas Tuchel for a while. The German admired the youngster at Bordeaux during his tenure at Paris Saint-Germain. Understandably, the Blues tried to sign him this summer, but Sevilla did not budge on their €80million valuation of the player.
However, the Spanish club is now willing to re-enter into negotiations for the centre-back. The La Liga side is open to letting the player leave for anything between €50-60million. It is thought that a summer move is likely, but the chances of a transfer in January still exist.
It also bodes well for the west London club that the player is keen on a move to Stamford Bridge and only has two and a half years left on his current deal at the Spanish outfit. He is also believed to have agreed to the framework of a four or five-year contract.
The potential move of Kounde has been nothing short of an elaborate and dramatic transfer saga. The Blues courted him for most of this summer, just to see the Spanish club put their foot down in the closing stages of the window. However, the sooner this deal takes place, the better.
The Stamford Bridge outfit is set to have Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, and Cesar Azpilicueta out of contract in the summer. The latter is also apparently being monitored by Barcelona ahead of a potential deal.
Should any member of the aforementioned quartet leave, Kounde could become a very able replacement for them. He has played a couple of seasons in the Champions League and helped Les Bleus lift the UEFA Nations League trophy in October.
Moreover, at 23, the French international has several more years ahead of him. Chelsea could churn the best out of him, especially under the tutelage of Tuchel. Thus, there is little to no reason to not pursue this deal, and if a January move is possible, the London club should push hard to complete one soon.
For some fans, it must sting to see Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi leave this summer and do well at AC Milan and Crystal Palace currently. Either of them could have had a big role to play at our club in the future. But if we do sign Kounde, then losing the young English duo in the summer would not seem so bad anymore.
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