FC Barcelona has confirmed their agreement of a deal worth €50 million (£41.8 million) plus €10 million in add-ons, with Sevilla for the signing of the 23-year-old defender, Jules Kounde. This is happening approximately one week after Chelsea FC saw their €55 million bid for the same player, who they have been chasing for over a year, rejected by Sevilla.
Kounde joins Barcelona
The French international, who has 11 international caps for France, will join the Blaugrana on a 5-year deal after his medical which is due to take place on his arrival at the Barcelona squad camp. Jules Kounde will be the 6th signing for Barcelona after they secured the signatures of Pablo Torre, Robert Lewandowski, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, and Raphinha.
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Chelsea, who despite having signed Kalidou Koulibaly still needs more central defensive options, will now turn to the likes of Manchester City’s Nathan Ake or PSG’s Presnel Kimpembe, in a bid to bolster their defensive prowess before the transfer window deadline on September 1, after losing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.
Meanwhile, Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel, has repeatedly expressed his distaste at the turn of events in the whole transfer saga as well as Barça’s transfer approach towards Chelsea captain, Cesar Azpilicueta. Sevilla turned down Chelsea’s €55 million bid saying they wanted €65 million, but they have now accepted Barça’s €50 million bid for the same player.
It is good to say at this point that Barça has been one of the most impressive clubs this transfer because even with their present financial situation, they have been able to attract and bring in several stars like Jules Kounde to the squad. And we can partly say that this was possible because of the presence of Xavi Hernandez at the club. Xavi has been a very influential figure in the transfer, crucial to most deals Barça has secured.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Jules Kounde had this to say about Xavi’s role in the deal,
“A lot of my being here is because of Xavi. I agreed with what he said, and I’m excited to start working with the team. It is very clear that we both think the same way about football”.
Meanwhile, Kounde’s signing would certainly spell the end of Barcelona’s bid for Inigo Martinez, an option they had previously considered when Chelsea was the frontrunner in the Kounde deal.
