Transfer News: Fabrizio Romano confirms Barcelona are trying to hijack Chelsea bid for Jules Kounde
According to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero (h/t Fabrizio Romano), Barcelona are preparing a bid to hijack Chelsea’s bid for talented French centre-back Jules Kounde from Sevilla this season.
Chelsea have been interested in the Frenchman for some time now and after a few weeks of no progress, the Blues have been accelerating talks with the La Liga club in the past week. Just when it seemed like an agreement had been reached, Barcelona entered the fray.
The Spanish club are also interested in the talented Frenchman with Xavi Hernandez keen on signing Kounde next season. It is now a battle between the two clubs to sign the Sevilla man and it remains to be seen in whose favour the coin falls in this saga.
Barcelona have been a thorn in Chelsea’s plans this summer with this not being the first time the Catalan club hijacked a deal for a player the Blues had an agreement with. The same thing happened with Raphinha earlier this summer with the former Leeds man already settling into the Spanish team.
Romano claims that Chelsea are waiting for the green light to sign the talented Frenchman but with the Spanish club preparing an official bid, we run the risk of repeating the Raphinha saga here with the player eventually ending up at Camp Nou.
One of the best young centre-backs in the world, big things are expected of the 23-year-old in the future. Chelsea are looking to sign another defender after Kalidou Koulibaly and signing a young defender to partner with the more experienced Sengalese star might be a wise option.
A huge season awaits Chelsea after a really disappointing previous campaign. It finally looks like Chelsea are solving the defensive crisis and signing replacement centre-backs for the ones that have left and if we add Jules Kounde, it would be perfect.
However, it is never a good thing to be battling Barcelona for a player. The Spanish club have a knack of getting the players they wish to buy and with them trying to hijack the Kounde deal, it would be a wise option for the Blues to keep alternatives in mind.
More Chelsea News
- Transfer News: Josko Gvardiol could join Chelsea from RB Leipzig
- Thomas Tuchel doesn’t expect Armando Broja to leave Chelsea this summer
- Trevor Sinclair urges Chelsea to name Raheem Sterling as club captain
The end to this Kounde saga would at least bring peace of mind to our fans. The name has been doing the rounds for a long time and it’s best the club moves on if it is clear that he wants to stay in Spain rather than move to west London.