Chelsea have ‘taken the lead’ for Sevilla defender Jules Koundé and have ‘already started to make moves’ to secure a deal.
That’s according to Sport, who say the Blues have been quick to start negotiations to beat the competition to the signing of the Frenchman.
According to the newspaper’s information, a deal could be struck for a figure between €50-60m, which would ‘not be a problem’ for Chelsea.
They need to reshape their defence after losing both Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, while Cesar Azpilicueta is also looking likely to leave Stamford Bridge before the end of the summer.
Koundé’s agent had already informed Sevilla of Chelsea’s interest in his client, and following that, Chelsea ‘took the reigns’ of the negotiations, according to ABC Sevilla.
They’ve made it clear they ‘will present a new firm offer’ to close a deal as soon as possible, putting them ahead of competition such as Barcelona, whose financial problems are restricting them from making moves at this moment in time.
Sevilla, for their part, have already accepted that a deal will take place and, after also selling Diego Carlos to Aston Villa, will now set about redesigning their own defence with the funds brought in from both sales.
That’s given Chelsea the impetus to get their man and they now want to close a deal ‘as soon as possible’ to begin their rebuild this summer.
