Manchester United look set to rival title chasers Chelsea in the race to sign highly rated Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.
Kounde was the subject of intense interest from Chelsea during the summer that resulted in a £50m transfer offer, but according to reports from Spanish outlet AS, there is “palpable” interest from Man United in terms of signing the Frenchman.
AS have also cited an ESPN report that indicates Chelsea will be back in for Kounde in the January transfer window, with The Blues still unsure what the future holds for out of contract defensive duo Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.
Man United will most likely be looking to improve the quality of their squad in the defensive third in order to fix their leaky defence, although the source of these improvements are more likely to come in the form of defensive midfielders rather than centre backs, as midfield will be a higher priority position considering the club’s purchase of former Real Madrid star Raphael Varane in the summer.
Despite Kounde having a market value of £54m according to transfermarkt, Kounde has a reported release clause of 80 million euros and United will need to match that if they are to leapfrog Chelsea in the pursuit of the 23-year-old.
He has recently established himself as a regular French international as well, which surely only bodes well in signifying the defenders quality.