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Chelsea and Barcelona are involved in a battle to sign Sevilla star Jules Koundé.

The Blues have already lost Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen as free agents. They could also see César Azpilicueta make a move away from Stamford Bridge, even though he has a year left on his contract.

Barca are keen to sign the Spain international because of his profile and versatility.

The west London club faced Charlotte FC in the pre-season friendly on Thursday and the 32-year-old was left out of the squad. Thomas Tuchel insisted the player had suffered an issue in training, rather than the decision being transfer related.

Mundo Deportivo now state Tuchel’s decision to leave the defender out is good news for the La Liga side. They further add Azpilicueta and Barca are waiting for his transfer to be closed as soon as possible.

Although the player’s move to the Camp Nou is presented as imminent, the report states there has been ‘no significant progress’ in negotiations between Chelsea and Xavi Hernández’s side.

It’s not made clear whether that has anything to do with Barcelona providing competition to Chelsea for Koundé.

AS and Sport have suggested the Catalan club approaching the Frenchman could have an impact on them signing Azpilicueta.