Chelsea is set to return for highly-rated French international center-back Jules Koundé as the club is in the final stages of having a completed takeover bid usher in a new era at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have a long-standing interest in the 23-year-old Sevilla standout dating back to last summer, and the need for Chelsea to secure new options at the heart of the defense has become urgent after Antonio Rüdiger is Real Madrid-bound this summer, while the German international has been followed out the door by Andreas Christensen who will be without a club come July and with Barcelona still sniffing around the Danish defender.
Chelsea hopeful of signing Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, the first of at least two centre-backs they are after
https://t.co/PeSLPETbqu— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) May 27, 2022
Now, according to multiple outlets including the Telegraph, AS, and transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea plan to make Koundé one of two center-back signings this summer but will be made to pay at least €65million for the former Girondins Bordeaux academy product as Sevilla will look to extract maximum financial compensation in the wake of also parting ways with Aston Villa-bound Diego Carlos.
Though there is certainly an avenue for Koundé to access to secure a move to the Premier League outfit, who Chelsea intends to target as their second recruitment in the center of defense remains to be seen after Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig have ruled out a summer departure of highly-touted youngster Joško Gvardiol, who is happy in Saxony and has no intentions of considering a move away from the club after just one year of service.
Should a deal for Koundé be found, Chelsea still must negotiate the summer market expertly to replace two key pieces under manager Thomas Tuchel, with just Thiago Silva, Malang Sarr, and Trevoh Chalobah the other available center-back options as the Blues look to close the gap to Manchester City and Liverpool in 2022-23.
