Tottenham and Sevilla had Jules Kounde transfer ‘agreement’ but roadblock causing issue

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Jules Kounde has been identified as Tottenham’s top transfer target this summer and Fabio Paratici had reportedly reached an ‘agreement’ with Sevilla. Nuno Espirito Santo has just a few weeks before the Premier League season gets underway against defending champions Manchester City on August 15.

Paratici will be tasked in helping improve Espirito Santo’s squad between now and then and there are set to be at least imminent arrivals after deals were agreed for Bryan Gil and Pierluigi Gollini.

More signings are expected though with Spurs in need of a revamp in certain areas.

Signing at least one centre-back is seen as a top priority at the club after Jose Mourinho struggled to find a regular partnership in defence last season.

Davinson Sanchez has seemingly been made available to leave should the right offer come in while Eric Dier, Toby Aldereireld and Joe Rodon face questions on who will be the regular starter next season.

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And a three-man defensive unit was Espirito Santo’s go-to set-up during his time at Wolves, suggesting he could look to replicate that at Tottenham.

But he will need better defensive cover at Tottenham to implement that system and Kounde appears to be the top choice.

According to The Athletic, Spurs have been in constant discussions with Sevilla over a move for the Frenchman.

Talks over a move for Kounde had in fact preceded any negotiations to sign Gil.

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And it is claimed that Paratici and Sevilla sporting director Monchi came to an ‘agreement’ over a deal for Kounde to move to north London.

Monchi is prepared to sell Kounde this summer and Spurs were willing to include Sanchez in an exchange deal, terms Sevilla were happy to accept.

However, the report adds that Kounde himself ultimately turned down a move to Tottenham.

The highly-rated 22-year-old would prefer to stay with a club playing Champions League football and would reportedly favour a move to Real Madrid.

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It likely means that Tottenham will have to move on from attempting to sign Kounde.

And the report states that Paratici has now identified Cristian Romero as his preferred alternative.

The 23-year-old has enjoyed huge success in the past year, having been named the best defender in Serie A last season and playing his part in helping Argentina win Copa America.

Atalanta have the option to buy Romero from Juventus and it’s suggested they’d be willing to let Tottenham swoop in.

However, Atalanta’s asking price of £34.5million is said to be too much for Tottenham, which could lead Spurs onto other targets.

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