It was reported during the week that Chelsea and Sevilla had reached an agreement for transfer of Jules Kounde. Yet the delay in any deal being done has given hope to Barcelona fans that they may yet be able to secure the signing of the French defender.
Those hopes were given a boost on Sunday afternoon, as Sport reported that Barcelona and Kounde had settled on an agreement between themselves. They say there is a four-year deal with Kounde ready to go.
However the trickiest part for Barcelona will be negotiating with Sevilla. Headed by savvy operator Monchi, they may find their work cut out if they hope to strongarm Sevilla into a deal.
It seems unlikely that Sevilla would accept anything less than the reported €65m deal they have with Chelsea. Reports on Saturday have said that Sporting Director Mateu Alemany hopes to persuade Sevilla by offering all of the fee up front, without instalments.
The longer the deal goes on, the more doubt will creep into Chelsea. It appeared they had won the race, but there is still no word from Kounde.
