Sports

Jules Kounde Makes Final Chelsea Transfer Decision After Xavi Phone Call

Published

2 years ago

Jul 24, 2022.

Benard Joseph

Jules Kounde Makes Final Chelsea Transfer Decision After Xavi Phone Call.
Barcelona are pushing to beat Chelsea to another star after the Raphinha deal…

EDITOR’S PICK

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Chelsea look set to suffer late despair in their pursuit of Jules Kounde after the Sevilla star bluntly ‘rejected’ the chance to join Thomas Tuchel’s side as his move to the Camp Nou has been described as being ‘just a matter of time’ according to reports in Spain.

Chelsea have been in the market for Kounde for the last few transfer windows. A deal came close to happening last summer but the Blues did not match Sevilla’s asking price.

Chelsea are claimed to have agreed a £55million fee with Sevilla, with personal terms already sorted. However, the player would prefer to join Barca.

The La Liga giants have already spent big this summer but are keen on adding Kounde to their squad. And it appears they are close to doing that.

The Telegraph amongst others had stated that the 23-year-old was to become the Blues’ third summer recruit of 2022. But you can just never rule out Barcelona in what has been a transfer period that will be remembered for how the Catalan giants have controlled a lot of what has gone on.

Initially, alongside reports stating that the Sevilla star would join up with Kalidou Koulibaly for the upcoming season, even Barca president Joan Laporta stated that Chelsea had won this specific transfer race.

However, Xavi’s influence in trying to get the club to beat Chelsea to another star after the Raphinha deal has seemingly worked a treat, with multiple sources now indicating that Kounde is more likely at this point to remain in La Liga than move to the Premier League.

Journalist Gerard Romero had reported that Kounde to Barcelona was now ‘just a matter of time.’ And reports are saying similar, which seems to indicate that bad news is ahead once more for the west Londoners.

AS state that Kounde has now rejected a move to Chelsea, and the defender has been in daily contact with Barcelona manager Xavi ahead of a move. The Sevilla star is now waiting for an agreement between his club and Barca, with a deal set to be agreed in the coming hours worth €55million (£46.8million).

Jules Kounde has sensationally rejected Chelsea’s proposal and is ‘closer than ever’ to joining Barcelona from Sevilla, according to reports in Spain.

The centre-back seemed all but set to complete a transfer to the Premier League after the Blues had a £55million bid accepted by Sevilla.

The La Liga outfit had accepted Chelsea’s bid and given cash-strapped Barca an ultimatum that they must match the offer or remove themselves from the transfer chase. And it now appears that the Catalans have had their own proposal green-lighted.

A deal is now incredibly ‘closed’, according to reports, and Kounde has turned down an offer from Chelsea. The 23-year-old’s preferred destination was always Barca but he was open to joining the West Londoners if the La Liga side failed to stump up the cash required to prise him away from Sevilla.

Once La Blaugrana made an offer, Kounde was always likely to accept personal terms. The player will now remain in the Spanish top-flight rather than move to the Premier League.

Spanish football journalist Miquel Blazquez claims that Kounde is now ‘closer than ever’ to joining Barca after rejecting Chelsea. It is a major blow to Thomas Tuchel, who has been scrambling to sign new defenders following the departures of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.

Chelsea have already been turned down by a couple of targets and have only managed to acquire long-term target Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli.

FURTHER READING

Tuchel now faces a race against time to make sure he has sufficient quality in his squad to be able to deploy his preferred back-three formation.

Click to watch our video of the week: