Thomas Tuchel needs to work quickly if he wants to add Sevilla’s Jules Kounde to Chelsea’s first-team squad in time for the start of the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, as West Ham are threatening to scupper the deal by making an acceptable offer to Kurt Zouma, the makeweight in the Kounde deal.
It’s reported that the Hammers might well have the advantage too, as it’s believed that Zouma is settled in the English capital.
According to the Daily Star, David Moyes’ valuation of the defender is just £8m shy of Chelsea’s, and if some common ground can be found, the Scot will enter into negotiations to take Zouma to east London.
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Tuchel would like to get in the region of £28m for the towering centre-back, whereas West Ham value him at nearer the £20m mark.
With two years left on his contract and others ahead of him in the pecking order, Chelsea’s chances of commanding a decent fee for Zouma after this summer are debatable.
It’s clear that Kounde is on their radar too, and it isn’t clear if the move for the La Liga star will still go ahead if Zouma decides to stay in the capital.
Only if they can release Declan Rice