Barcelona are currently in direct negotiations with Sevilla for Jules Kounde according to reports. Their official bid won’t be €50m plus €10m, nor will it match Chelsea’s £55m bid. It will be lower with a different structure. Kounde has agreed personal terms and if you think the deal will happen check out KUBET for the best odds.
Barcelona had seemingly lost the battle for Kounde to Chelsea, who had appeared on the verge of signing the 23-year-old Frenchman toward the end of last week. But a phone-call from Xavi Hernandez convinced Kounde to wait for Barcelona to come in for him and Chelsea have grown tired of waiting for a green light for the player despite already agreeing a deal with Sevilla.
And now it seems almost inevitable that Kounde will be on his way to Camp Nou. The centre-back joined Sevilla from Bordeaux in the summer of 2019 and has since become one of the finest in Spain and Europe. He’s made 133 appearances for the Andalusian club and already earned eleven caps for the French national team.
He’s formed one of the best centre-back partnerships in European football beside Diego Carlos at the heart of Sevilla’s defence since landing at the Sanchez-Pizjuan, also working in tandem with experienced Brazilian pivot Fernando Reges just ahead of them. Working under Julen Lopetegui, Sevilla qualified for the Champions League three years running and won the Europa League in 2019/20, beating Internazionale in the final.
Barcelona’s capture of the Frenchman would be a coup. Whoever lands Kounde this summer is signing a centre-back for the next decade, and beside Ronald Araujo he has the chance to build a partnership that could even transcend what he cultivated with Carlos. Araujo and Kounde – both competitors, the youngsters are the perfect blend of technique, tenacity and aggression.
They’d also serve as the perfect foundation upon which Barcelona could build a competitive team. Xavi already has a strong midfield roster at his disposal and a lethal attack – signing a player of Kounde’s calibre could be the final piece of the puzzle.
Barcelona finished 13 points behind Real Madrid in La Liga last season and failed to win a single trophy. To remedy this and make up the lost ground in 2022/23, Barcelona have been moving aggressively in the transfer market. Kounde isn’t secured yet but the signatures of Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski have already been locked down.
