Thomas Tuchel has admitted to the widely known fact about Chelsea’s keen interest in securing Jules Kounde in the summer.
Chelsea are on the rise under Thomas Tuchel as they continue to dominate proceedings in the Premier League. The club have collected 10 points from the four games so far, with a big credit going to new signing Romelu Lukaku, who scored a brace against Aston Villa.
However, since winning last season’s Champions League, Tuchel and the Chelsea board have worked hard to secure top signings and bolster the squad. They also signed Saul Niguez from Atletico Madrid on deadline day, although missing out on priority target Jules Kounde.
Kounde has been Chelsea’s no.1 defensive target, and the club pursued the Frenchman all summer long. Despite verbally agreeing with Sevilla over a deal, the Spanish giants later increased their asking price to put Chelsea off the trail.
Recent reports suggested the Blues might go back in January to sign Kounde if Sevilla agrees to lower their asking price to €50 million. Tuchel could feel the need for a top-rated centre-back after letting Kurt Zouma leave for West Ham, although so far, the German boss has managed to find solutions internally with Trevoh Chalobah.
Transfer Market Web posted Tuchel’s quotes, where the Chelsea boss admitted the interest in Kounde, suggesting he was keen on signing the Frenchman. He also stated he was satisfied with the current squad irrespective of the defender’s arrival.
Tuchel said, “Marina (Granovskaia, the club manager) was in charge of that. We were in contact, and Petr Cech (technical and performance advisor) was in contact as well. We three knew the whole situation. We knew things could happen, but they could come late.”
“We were also aware that nothing could happen. I told everyone that I would still be happy, even if we couldn’t bring in a player. We would find the solution within the team. But it was clear that we tried to do Koundé and Saul, but it was very, very late during this transfer window.”
Now, it remains to be seen if Tuchel would urge Chelsea to go back in January or next summer to sign the centre-back. However, if he is satisfied with his current options, especially with the development of a Chalobah, the blues might end their interest in Kounde.
