Sevilla sporting director Monchi has opened up why Chelsea failed signing Jules Koundé this summer.
The Blues, who couldn’t take the defender away from the La Liga side last summer, were back again for the 23-year-old in the ongoing window.
Monchi revealed the deal for the France international’s sale to Chelsea collapsed, even after Sevilla reached a verbal agreement with Thomas Tuchel’s side.
This allowed Barcelona to come into the picture for the former Bordeaux man. On Thursday, the Catalan club confirmed they have reached an agreement with Julen Lopetegui’s side for the transfer of Koundé.
Chelsea’s failure to close the deal opened the door for Barca director Mateu Alemany to open talks with the Andalusian club at the start of this week.
“In the specific case of Koundé, at the beginning there were more suitors than at the end of the market. More interested clubs, and in the final stretch Chelsea stayed above all, which is the club that has had us negotiating for the last month,” Monchi said, as relayed by El Desmarque.
“Last Thursday we reached a verbal agreement with Chelsea, the player too, but (laughs) as this football thing never ceases to surprise, at the last moment, some doubts at Chelsea, as to the location, made him doubt.
“They decided to stop, and in that tug-of-war Barcelona appeared. The first time that Mateu Alemany contacts me is on Monday, he conveys his interest to us, we ask him for an offer and one arrives that is lower than what we had in mind, and after working on it with a significant effort from Barcelona, reaching a significant amount, such as the most important sale in the history of the club.
“The player on [last] Thursday night was sold to Chelsea. With an agreement between the clubs and an agreement with the player, but even if you’ve been here for a long time, there are situations that surprise you.
“They hesitated, asked to wait for the last moves. The wait was delayed, Barça appeared, Chelsea came back, but Barça’s offer was better. We have decided to sell him to the club that gave better conditions. The best offer we have received is from Barcelona. Everything will be explained in more detail.”
Chelsea have already signed Kalidou Koulibaly and with Thomas Tuchel reportedly wanting another centre-back in this window, the west London club will have to look elsewhere in the market.
