Rumours around Jules Koundé and Manchester City have been building over the past 24 hours. Pep Guardiola’s side are in search of a central defender, and after months of struggles with Napoli it looks like they may be moving on from the Kalidou Koulibaly option.
Claims from Spain last week of a huge offer, approaching €100m, for Jose Gimenez felt more like they were reports to make Atletico Madrid look strong in the face of transfer pressure, and it remains to be seen whether that’s similar for Koundé.
Regardless, Marca say they ‘have been able to confirm’ a Manchester City offer for the Sevilla defender. That ‘formal’ offer stands at €55m, and has been rejected by the La Liga club, who are referring to their player’s €90m buyout clause.
A return from the Premier League club, with a second attempt, isn’t ruled out, although it’s made clear Sevilla sports director Monchi doesn’t want to part ways with the 21-year-old.
A transfer at €90m just doesn’t seem realistic this summer, and Sevilla would surely wobble at even the €55m figure… or at least agree to enter further negotiations to find an agreement.
