Chelsea have been heavily linked with a move for Jules Kounde all summer, as Thomas Tuchel wants to bolster his defence.
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Chelsea have reportedly made a breakthrough in their bid to sign Sevilla defender Jules Kounde. As per the reports coming in on Wednesday, the Blues and the Spanish club have agreed a GBP 42 million deal for the Frenchman. The Champions League winners have been heavily linked with a move for the 22-year-old all summer. Head coach Thomas Tuchel wants to bolster his defence as the West Londoners look to defend the European title, and dethrone Manchester City as Premier League champions.
Gianluca Di Marzio reports that a deal worth GBP 42 million is ‘almost done’ in a huge boost for the Blues. Meanwhile, Kurt Zouma’s transfer is the key piece in the puzzle in the Kounde transfer, as Chelsea look to raise money from Zouma’s deal to finance part of the fee for the defender’s deal. Thus, the defender appears close to a GBP 25 million move across London to West Ham United.
The Hammers have encountered a number of hiccups in their pursuit of the 26-year-old, namely his wage demand of over GBP 100,000-per-week. However, talks resumed later on Wednesday evening and both clubs still hope that an agreement can be reached. A medical for Zouma which was scheduled for Thursday in Paris hasn’t been cancelled according to French broadcaster TF1.
Therefore there is optimism that Zouma will be a West Ham player before the transfer window shuts, in six days, freeing up a space for Kounde at Stamford Bridge, as there are already six recognised central defenders in the squad.
Kounde is predominantly a centre-back who can also play as a right-back. Although, he isn’t the tallest of central defenders, as centre-back’s usually are, but is strong in the air and has good positional awareness.
Therefore, since arriving from Bordeaux in 2019, he has been a stalwart in Julen Lopetegui’s side, making 91 appearances for Sevilla. The 22-year-old was also included in Didier Deschamps’ squad for Euro 2020 this summer, in which France made a shock exit to Switzerland in the last-16.
Tuchel plays with three central defenders and Kounde could very well fit into the system alongside Rudiger and César Azpilicueta or Andreas Christensen. He is also comfortable with the ball at his feet and can contribute while going forward with his passing range and crossing ability.
If the move goes through, it will be Tuchel’s third summer signing following the acquisitions of Marcos Bettinelli and Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku returned to Chelsea from Inter Milan for a club record GBP 98 million deal and made a mark straight away as he scored the first goal in the 2-0 win against Arsenal last weekend.
