Chelsea have reportedly decided to end their pursuit of Sevilla defender Jules Kounde as he closes in on a transfer to Barcelona.
According to El Desmarque, Chelsea have dropped out of the race for the signing of Sevilla defender Jules Kounde as the defender is now inching closer towards a transfer to Barcelona this summer.
Kounde has been a subject of an intense transfer tug of war between Barcelona and Chelsea over the past month or so. The Blues have been interested in the 23-year-old since last summer and had seen an attempt to sign him fail in 2021. While Chelsea looked at other targets this summer, their failure to sign Matthijs de Ligt and Nathan Ake led them back to Kounde.
Chelsea lodged an offer of around £55 million for the French international and had reached an agreement with Sevilla over a transfer. And for a while, it looked like they were primed to capture the 23-year-old star’s services until Barcelona were sparked into action following the activation of their second economic lever.
Like Chelsea, Barcelona have also been long-term admirers of Kounde. Manager Xavi Hernandez had made the former Bordeaux ace his priority target to strengthen the defence this summer. Despite having a strong interest in the centre-back, the Blaugrana had not made any move for him, but things started to move after Chelsea’s offer.
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
Reports claim that Barcelona have successfully hijacked the move for Kounde, with an agreement in place with Sevilla. The defender is also believed to have agreed a four-year contract with the Blaugrana.
Having now realised that they stand little chance of signing Kounde, Chelsea have decided to end their pursuit of the French international and start looking at other options. Indeed, the report claims that Sevilla have not received a final piece of documentation from the Premier League giants regarding their previous agreement over the transfer, indicating that they are ready to move on to other targets.
So, while there were some claims that Thomas Tuchel’s side could return with an improved offer for Kounde, that does not seem to be the case. As things stand, the 23-year-old is headed for Barcelona, with Chelsea scouring the market for alternatives.
