On Saturday, we covered a report from Marca, which stated Manchester City had made a €55m offer for Jules Koundé. The Spanish newspaper said they’d ‘been able to confirm’ the bid and amount, which suggested the claims were coming via Sevilla sources.
The response from the La Liga club was rejection, with them referring to the defender’s €90m buyout clause. As we pointed out at the time, such a high figure is completely unrealistic in the current window for Koundé, and it was a surprise that even €55m hadn’t tempted Sevilla to sit down and talk.
A second attempt from Manchester City wasn’t ruled out, and it appears that could be on the way.
Mundo Deportivo report Txiki Begiristain has been urged, presumably by Pep Guardiola, to push again for the signing. The fresh idea is to offer Nicolas Otamendi as part of the deal, to reduce the transfer payable.
However, Sevilla aren’t convinced by the prospect of a player being involved. They ‘want money’ and Mundo go on to quote a Sevilla source as saying: “If the club receives a proposal of more than €60m plus variables, they will yield. We are talking about half of the annual budget.”
That sounds like a believable scenario.