Chelsea rekindle Jules Kounde interest following Nathan Ake setback. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
According to Blue Footy (via Corriere dello Sport via Sport Witness) (h/t Football.London), the new owners at Chelsea are willing to sanction the purchase of two star centre-backs Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus and Jules Kounde from Sevilla in the summer.
De Ligt joined the Old Lady from Ajax in 2019 and has slowly yet surely grown into the Italian club. This season, the 22-year-old has played 42 times for the Bianconeri scoring three goals and providing one assist across all competitions as Juventus puffed their way to a dismal fourth in the Serie A.
Jules Kounde joined Sevilla from Bordeaux also in 2019 and has since then gone on to establish himself as one of the best defenders in La Liga. A key man of Julen Lopetegui’s team, the 23-year-old has played 44 times for the Spanish club, also scoring three goals and providing one assist across all competitions.
Chelsea are said to be interested in both players ahead of next season and it has now emerged that the new owners are willing to buy both players to reinforce the Blues squad.
It is no secret that Chelsea find themselves in a bit of a defensive pickle ahead of the summer and have a crisis to solve to build a competitive squad this season.
Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger have left the club on free transfers upon the expiry of their contracts whilst Cesar Azpilicueta’s future at Chelsea is far from certain. This will leave the Blues extremely short of options at central defence.
Signings are the need of the hour for the Blues in the defensive area and if they manage to pull off deals for the aforementioned duo, they will have done great business. Replacing the outgoing defenders is never going to be an easy task but it cannot get much better than Kounde and De Ligt.
Chelsea will have to break the bank though to facilitate both these transfers as both players will definitely not come cheap. However, if the new owners manage to pull a deal off for the duo, it will be a great statement to begin their reign at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have world-class replacements lined up ahead of a crucial transfer window. Whether they manage to pull it off remains to be seen though.
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