Chelsea were aware that Jules Koundé would be undergoing surgery after the international break, despite the shock revelation from France boss Didier Deschamps.
That’s according to Diario de Sevilla, AS and Sport today, who all cover the news from various angles.
Deschamps set off alarm bells earlier this week by revealing Kounde would be undergoing surgery to repair a muscular problem he had been carrying throughout the second half of the campaign.
That news came as a surprise to many, with the injury unknown of at that point and seeming likely to ruin any transfer plans in the coming weeks.
Koundé has been heavily linked to Chelsea for the best part of two months, with the Blues keen to reignite their efforts from last year and sign the Frenchman as a replacement for Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
Surgery, and the subsequent lay off, would surely put that deal in danger, but the aforementioned newspapers insist that isn’t the case today.
Diario say Sevilla did not expect Deschamps to reveal the information, particularly with Chelsea ‘keeping an eye on Kounde’s every move’ this summer.
It is because of that, they released a short statement on the matter to allay any fears and insist he would be fit for the start of the season.
According to their sources, he will only be out for three weeks, and Chelsea, who are in ‘constant contact’ with his agent, are more than aware of it. In fact, the deal is ‘well mapped out’, and the all parties have ‘tied up their dots’.
This is backed up by Sport, who explain that Koundé underwent successful surgery yesterday, and if everything goes to plan, the defender will be out for four weeks maximum. That could be extended by a further two weeks at the most.
He will, though, be fit for the start of next season regardless and Chelsea remain in the mix, although slightly perturbed by Sevilla’s ‘high demands’.
AS are more dramatic and say surgery of this nature would normally require a recovery period of one to three months, but because Koundé is only 23, his absence ‘should be the minimum’.
In fact, the player himself believes he will be back training ‘in a few weeks’.
They believe the issue won’t affect the transfer itself or the terms of the agreement but do insist that Chelsea ‘were aware’ that he would be undergoing surgery.
Deschamps’ reveal, then, was not a shock to those in charge at Stamford Bridge but a confirmation of something they had already been made aware of beforehand.
That should come as a relief for those who suspected a little skullduggery by Sevilla, and perhaps it explains why this deal, which looks to be a given, hasn’t been finalised yet either.
