Recent reports have confirmed that Premier League giants Chelsea are in talks with Spanish side Sevilla over the possible summer signing of defender Jules Kounde. However, seeing the two sides reach an agreement still appears to be some way off.
Following Fabrizio Romano’s report that the Blues have now turned their attention to Sevilla’s French centre-back, the latest in the ongoing saga comes from Goal, who claims the La Liga side are playing hardball when it comes to negotiations.
The outlet claim that despite being offered cash plus Blues’ defender Kurt Zouma, Sevilla is holding out for as close to their €80m valuation as possible.
While it has not been ruled out the Spanish side would welcome Zouma, it is expected that the club would prefer cash upfront over cash and a player.
Although there are very few clubs in Europe who are considered financially stable enough to afford Kounde, with Manchester United recently reaching an agreement to sign Raphael Varane from Real Madrid, PSG already signing Sergio Ramos and Manchester City refusing to reignite last year’s interest, Chelsea does certainly appear to have a clear path to signing the 22-year-old.
However, if these most recent reports are anything to go by, the Blues’ hierarchy will need to dig a little deeper into their pockets.