Chelsea signed Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for a reported club record GBP 97.5 million this summer and might have to pay a high transfer fee to bring in Kounde.
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Chelsea have been tracking Jules Kounde for the majority of the summer transfer window. The Sevilla defender has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, the Blues have already made a high profile signing in the form of striker Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan and are looking for another one before the deadline of August 31. Kounde emerged as one of the best defenders in La Liga since arriving from Bordeaux two years ago. Besides, it is also learnt that the English club is prepared to wait as they already have enough depth in their defensive department.
Lukaku was brought back to Chelsea for a reported club record GBP 97.5 million, therefore the Blues might have to do something similar to bring in the Sevilla defender. The 22-year-old defender was part of the French squad for Euro 2020 on the back of his impressive performance for the Spanish club.
The Frenchman also attracted interest from Manchester United but after the Red Devils signed Raphael Varane from Real Madrid, Chelsea are leading the race to sign Kounde. Meanwhile, the record fee spent by Chelsea for a defender was GBP 50 million for Ben Chilwell, who was brought in from Leicester City in September 2020.
Kounde’s release clause stands at GBP 68 million, therefore the Blues will have to offer a record fee to the Spanish side to part ways with their prized asset. On the other hand, Sevilla are not in a hurry to sell the youngster as reflected by their decision to reject the GBP 30 million offer that would have seen Kount Zouma going in the opposite direction.
According to Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solkehol, Chelsea remain in the hunt to sign Kounde, with separate reports claiming the club are attempting to sell Zouma to West Ham to fund the deal.
Chelsea already have a number of quality defenders at their disposal. Head coach Thomas Tuchel started their opening Premier League match, a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace, with three defenders- Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Chalobah. Even the likes of Captain Cesar Azpilicueta, Zouma and Thiago Silva were named as substitutes.
Chalobah, who has returned after loan spells at Huddersfield Town and Lorient, made his Premier League debut last weekend. The 22-year-old also started the UEFA Super Cup final triumph against Villarreal and played for the entire 120 minutes.
The tall centre-back had an exceptional pre-season that saw him handed a place in the playing eleven in the opening two games of the campaign. His emergence could be one of the reasons the Blues are willing to wait for Kounde.
And, Silva signed a one-year contract extension after an impressive debut campaign that will keep him at the club until 2022. Meanwhile, Rudiger also had a very good season for the Blues under Thomas Tuchel. Therefore it will be interesting to see how hard Chelsea goes to secure Kounde.
