Chelsea have made Sevilla defender Jules Koundé a ‘priority’ target once again following the breakdown in talks with Manchester City for Nathan Aké.
That’s according to ABC Sevilla, who say the player is once again in the Blues’ orbit after a move had fallen by the wayside.
The newspaper reports that the Dutch defender was the main competition for Koundé, but that deal isn’t now happening, and so the French defender has moved to the top of the list of options.
A key point in the new negotiation is the inclusion of super-agent Jorge Mendes, who has Chelsea’s approval to ‘mediate’ with Sevilla.
His remit is to find a price that ‘satisfies all parties’, but Sevilla are in no rush to secure a sale as the player is contracted until 2024.
He also has a high enough release clause to ‘put pressure on his suitors’, although what the player does will likely be key.
He exerted a lot of pressure on Sevilla last summer to secure a move, and it remains to be seen if he acts the same way this summer. He’s set to join the club training camp next Wednesday ahead of a trip to Portugal.
There are several clubs who are keen on him, with Chelsea ‘again the most interested’ despite signing Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli. Barcelona and PSG are also keeping an eye on him, though.
The Blues are waiting to resolve the future of César Azpilicueta as a move to Barcelona could rule them out of the race for Koundé. In terms of PSG, the Frenchman is the second choice behind Milan Skriniar.
Sevilla are aware of this and keeping an ‘expectant eye’ on the situation, believing the market will ‘favour them’, and they’ll get the price they want for their man.
Meanwhile, reports from elsewhere in Europe have been claiming Chelsea are close to signing Presnel Kimpembe from PSG.
