Chelsea seem to be on the verge of signing Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, with multiple sources reporting that a deal is done. That may have consequences across the elite of European football, not least for Barcelona and Sevilla.
According to BILD in Germany, Chelsea’s next target is Paris Saint-Germain’s Presnel Kimpembe, who they will now launch an offensive for. Sport, who carried the story, also highlighted that Chelsea are still in negotiations for Manchester City’s Nathan Ake.
That trio of transfer targets means they will no longer be in need of Sevilla’s Jules Kounde. The French defender had been closely linked with Chelsea for some time, but the trail appears to have gone cold in recent weeks. With their targets settled, Kounde is no longer on their shortlist, save a surprise U-turn.
That leaves Barcelona in pole position for Kounde. The Blaugrana appear to be chasing a central defender and themselves were linked with Koulibaly previously. PSG are also on the scene, in the case of losing Kimpembe, but Barcelona remain at the front of the queue.
The big question is whether Barcelona can meet Sevilla’s demands. It is thought that a deal for Kounde will not be struck for less than €60m. Following the transfer of Raphinha and the potential move for Robert Lewandowski, Kounde would be a third big money move for a club in poor financial health. Sport’s coverage did mention that Memphis Depay could be included in order to cheapen the deal, but there is no guarantee the Dutch forward would be interested.
