Chelsea have rekindled their interest in Jules Koundé, after attempting to sign him prior to his move to Barcelona.
The France international spent three years at Sevilla and left them for Barcelona in 2022. At the Andalusian club, he operated as a centre-back and his performances had convinced Chelsea to bet on him.
However, the Premier League side missed out as the defender favoured a move to the Camp Nou. He has won three league titles, three Supercopa de España and one Copa de Rey with Barcelona.
Koundé has moved from the heart of the defence to the right-back position at Barca. He played 197 matches for the Catalan club and 148 were as a fullback. This doesn’t seem to have now put off Xabi Alonso’s side.
Why Chelsea lost Koundé to Barcelona
In July 2022, Monchi was the sporting director at Sevilla and had confirmed reaching a verbal agreement with the London club.
Thomas Tuchel was the manager at Stamford Bridge, and the 27-year-old earlier talked about his chat with the German.
After completing his move to Barcelona, Jules Koundé confirmed Chelsea wanted him and explained why he picked the La Liga winners.
At that time, he said: “Yes, Chelsea wanted me, but I chose Barca because I wanted to get here, it wasn’t an effort for me. I had another opportunity. I waited for Barca’s agreement with Sevilla. And I chose it, because it’s a club with an ambitious project, I like the league…”
| Every Chelsea signing 26/27 | Previous Club | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Morgan Rogers | Aston Villa | £120m |
| Maxence Lacroix | Crystal Palace | £52m |
| Geovany Quenda | Sporting | £41.5m |
| Marco Palestra | Atalanta | £47m |
| Valentin Barco | RC Strasbourg | £34m |
| Pep Chavarría | Rayo Vallecano | £17m |
| Emiliano Martínez | Aston Villa | £7.8m |
| Danny Welbeck | Brighton | £5.1m |
| Jordan Henderson | Brentford | Free |
Situation at Barcelona can favour Chelsea
Journalist Matteo Moretto reports the Blues’ interest in the versatile defender for Radio Marca‘s La Pizarra.
He states Xabi Alonso’s side have made an approach to find out the conditions needed to sign Jules Koundé.
“There are Premier League clubs keeping a close eye on his situation. Chelsea enquired about him and almost signed him before he went to Barca. Looking ahead to January, they are exploring this situation and looking at the numbers of this potential operation,” he said.
The Frenchman’s future was uncertain during the summer window, and doubts still exist. In short, his future is up in the air and Hansi Flick’s side won’t oppose to his sale.
“Koundé’s future at Barca is not guaranteed, and Chelsea have enquired about him. It remains to be seen whether Barca is looking for ways to raise funds to sign a top striker,” Moretto explained.
Regarding the player’s price, he concluded: “Probably more than €50m.”
His contract lasts until 2030, and the price quoted should be affordable for Chelsea. There’s no clarity whether the defender is open to joining the west London club in January or next summer.
