Price-tag of Chelsea target Jules Kounde to be influenced by Barcelona's interest.
It’s common practice amongst lions to take a step back – not because they are intimidated or losing interest in the prey, but to gather momentum in order to make a much bigger leap than what would have otherwise been possible.
The animal kingdom is fascinating, and so is the transfer market. After a year-long interest in Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, Chelsea are now seemingly taking a step back in their pursuit of the highly-touted Frenchman. Why, though? One obvious reason is the change in ownership and administration.
Kounde is essentially a Marina Granovskaia target, and it’s her who has been in constant contact with the 23-year-old’s entourage. With Granovskaia now out of power, coupled with the departures of Bruce Buck and Petr Cech, transfer targets are now reportedly being reconsidered. Juventus centre-back Matthijs de Ligt has emerged as the new priority.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Sevilla will accept a €65 million fee for Kounde. However, it’s not in the hands of the Andalusian club. A lot will depend on the other chasing pack – Barcelona, since they are in no position to match Sevilla’s demands.
Sevilla has also assured Kounde that he will be allowed to leave for a club that can match his ambitions. More than that, Sevilla themselves need the money to fund an overhaul of their squad whilst also balancing the books to neutralise their own financial troubles. What does this mean? Advantage Chelsea, should they still go after Kounde.
As things stand, Sevilla need to offload Kounde. The Blues are the only viable destination, given that only they can come close to matching Sevilla’s valuation.
Julen Lopetegui’s side are well aware of the situation and know that should Chelsea launch an offer that is slightly short of Kounde’s €65 million valuation, Sevilla may actually have to give in.
The longer this drags on, the lesser days and weeks Sevilla will have in hand to plan their transfer activity. Sevilla have always had the leverage in these negotiations, until now. The tables seem to be turning, so don’t be fooled by Chelsea “cooling” their interest. At least not yet.
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