Sevilla defender Jules Koundé ‘fell into a depression’ last summer after his failed move to Chelsea.
That’s according to Diario de Sevilla, who cover the defender’s struggles this season and how they may link back to the Blues efforts to sign him.
Chelsea were keen on the defender throughout the summer transfer window but could not reach an agreement with Sevilla to make a deal happen.
The Spanish side were determined that any interested party pay Koundé’s €80m release clause, something Chelsea would not do after spending £100m on Romelu Lukaku.
They worked on a deal until the end of the window, and at one point, it looked like an agreement could be reached, but ultimately it wasn’t to be.
Diario de Sevilla cover that today amid a look at how Koundé’s performances haven’t been up to his usual standard since the failed negotiations.
They say that Koundé had ‘already agreed a contract’ with Chelsea that would have seen him signing a five-year deal and ‘almost triple’ what he currently picks up at the Sanchez Pizjuan.
Indeed, Koundé ‘already saw himself in London’ and was confident the transfer would happen, so much so he ‘gave up his number 12 shirt’ to new signing Rafa Mir.
Unfortunately for him, the deal fell through ‘at the last moment’ when Kurt Zouma rejected a move to Spain and joined West Ham instead.
This greatly upset the defender, and he ‘fell into a depression’ that saw him decide not to go with the team to Elche and claim that he was not emotionally prepared to play for the club at that point.
Since that point, he’s struggled to hit the heights that had Chelsea interested in the first place, with several disappointing displays for club and country and an acceptable he’s not at his old level.
His commitment has not been questioned by anyone, but there are those who remember the failed deal and a general feeling that it could be the start of his downward slide
