Jules Kounde has reportedly instructed his agent to rebuff interest from Real Madrid and open talks with Manchester United instead.
According to a report by Catalan outlet El Nacional, Jules Kounde is disillusioned with the idea of joining Real Madrid. Instead, the 22-year-old Sevilla defender is favouring a move to Manchester United, having also instructed his agent to initiate discussions with the Red Devils.
Jules Kounde joined Sevilla from Bordeaux in the summer of 2019 and has since gone on to establish himself as one of the best defenders on show in La Liga. A mainstay at the back for Sevilla, the Frenchman has racked up 97 appearances for Los Nervionenses, chipping in with six goals and two assists in the process.
Having made significant progress at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, the 22-year-old has been attracting the interest of some of the biggest clubs in Europe. In fact, Chelsea were heavily linked with Kounde till deadline day in the summer transfer window before ceding the pursuit. As things stand, though, Real Madrid and Manchester United are hot on the trails of the youngster.
The interest from Real Madrid does make sense, considering they chose not to bring in a natural replacement for Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane. While David Alaba has come in as a defensive reinforcement, he will be utilised as a left-back as well from time to time, as was the case in the game against Espanyol ahead of the international break.
That leaves Eder Militao and Nacho as the only viable candidates to feature at the heart of the Real Madrid defence, which invariably creates the need of a centre-back. With that in mind, Kounde has emerged on the radar of Real Madrid, who are facing stiff competition from Manchester United.
The interest from Manchester United comes as a bit of a surprise, seeing as they bolstered their backline by signing Varane from Real Madrid in the summer. Varane’s addition has left Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a number of top class centre-backs at his disposal, with Teden Mengi also being one to look out for.
So, it is hard to see where Kounde would fit in at Manchester United, although it looks like the Red Devils are set to make their move for the 22-year-old. And now, Manchester United have been handed a major boost in pursuit of Kounde, who favours a switch to Old Trafford over joining Real Madrid.
In fact, the French international has instructed his agent to open talks with Manchester United, which ought to kick-start the transfer saga involving him once again. What now remains to be seen is if the Premier League heavyweights eventually do make their move for Kounde or if Real Madrid can do anything to prise him away from Sevilla instead.
