VERY CLOSE: Chelsea to complete signing of £68million La Liga star in coming days
Chelsea and Sevilla center-back Jules Kounde are currently very close to a deal, according to Manu Sainz of the Spanish media outlet AS.
Chelsea is now said to have won the race to recruit the France international defender ahead of Barcelona, who were also interested in signing the defender. Barcelona manager Xavi spoke with the player to attempt to persuade him.
The French defender, who has a £68 million release clause, was a top target for the Blues last summer when Chelsea tried to strengthen our defense.
However, with Todd Boehly’s arrival, Chelsea turned its attention to other defensive targets like Nathan Ake and Juventus’ Matthijs de Ligt.
But since the Blues and Manchester City were unable to come to terms over Ake, and De Ligt was eager to join Bayern Munich, Chelsea moved quickly to outbid Barcelona for the France defender.
Chelsea’s refusal to match Sevilla’s £68 million release clause prevented them from signing Kounde last summer.
For one drastic exception, Kounde is currently anticipated to sign with Chelsea this week.