Chelsea target Jules Kounde is prepared to accept personal terms with Barcelona
In a blow to Chelsea, Jules Kounde is prepared to accept the personal terms presented by Barcelona, as relayed by transfer guru Fabrizio Romano on Twitter. The French centre-back’s camp has indicated the same to the Blaugrana after Xavi personally called the Sevilla defender.
Barcelona and the Stamford Bridge side have been the two clubs pursuing the 23-year-old throughout the summer. It seems the Catalans have got the upper hand in the negotiations. The Blues had already submitted personal terms a few days back, but there’s been no response from any parties.
Chelsea have been looking at centre-backs left and right this summer. With the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen at the end of the previous season, Thomas Tuchel has been left with a depleted squad.
The sanctions that were put on the Blues were detrimental and we were unable to negotiate terms with our players on time. While the new owners have spent the cash, recruitment still leaves much to be desired.
We’ve got one centre-back in this window. Kalidou Koulibaly has been one of the defenders in Serie A for a while now. The 31-year-old now comes to Stamford Bridge to show his qualities.
The other signing has been in the forward line. The arrival of Raheem Sterling gives a boost to the attack. But we are still a few quality additions away from challenging for the title.
With the dearth of centre-back options, it seems to be one of the areas that need strengthening in the squad. Currently, in addition to Koulibaly, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta are the two experienced choices from last season still at the club. But our captain is also angling for a move away from London.
Other options are Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr. Although they featured a lot in the previous campaign, the duo is still inexperienced.
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It remains to be seen how Tuchel chooses to shape the backline in the next season. If we were to miss out on Kounde and if the team wants to play three at the back once again next season, a quality centre-back being added to the team will go a long way in helping us challenge for titles.