Chelsea handed fresh Jules Kounde boost as Sevilla set to deliver on ‘transfer promise’

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Chelsea’s chances of signing Jules Kounde in the summer transfer window have been boosted by transfer activity at Sevilla, according to reports. The Blues came close to signing Kounde in the summer and are likely to return to the France international due to their contractual crisis in defence.

As things stand, Chelsea are set to lose Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger when their contracts expire on July 1.

Azpilicueta has been courted by Barcelona, Christensen by Barca and Bayern Munich, while Rudiger is a target of Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

Chelsea have signed Thiago Silva up to a contract extension and have youngsters Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr on the books, but look extremely likely to invest in new centre-backs this summer.

They offered Sevilla £50million for Kounde in the summer transfer window and thought they had a deal, only for the Spanish side to insist that his £68.7m (€80m) release clause was paid in full.

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Marca recently reported that Chelsea are ‘convinced’ they can prise Kounde from Sevilla this time around and the Premier League club will be encouraged by a development in Spain.

Sevilla have lined up Lazio defender Luiz Felipe for a summer transfer due to the uncertainty over the futures of Kounde and Diego Carlos, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Lazio have been trying to get Felipe to extend his current deal, which expires at the end of June, but the Brazilian centre-back has now had his head turned by Sevilla.

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The 24-year-old has turned down a four-year contract with Lazio worth £1.68m (€2m) per year due to a ‘promise’ from Sevilla.

The report states that ‘there is the certainty’ defensive partnership of Kounde and Carlos will break up at the end of the season.

Kounde has been chased by Chelsea, while Carlos was the subject of a £30m bid by Newcastle in January and has attracted attention from other Premier League teams.

Kounde has made 25 appearances for Sevilla this season and although he is happy at the club, he was angry that his move to Chelsea collapsed in the summer.

Sevilla director of football Monchi is known to drive a hard bargain and he is in a strong position, with Kounde under contract until June 2024.

“The first formal offer we received was an amount that did not satisfy our requirements and conditional on Chelsea selling a player,” he said last year of the bid for Kounde.

“We responded with a counter-offer that had an expiry date. To the first offer for Kounde, we answered with an idea of our own.

“Everyone looks after their own interests, and the club has respected one hundred per cent when there has been interest from other teams, and the player didn’t think it was convenient.”

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