THE PLAYER FOLLOWS WITHOUT PRONOUNCING
Danger! Sevilla and Chelsea reach an agreement for Koundé
Published:20/07/2022 - 23:52h
Updated:21/07/2022 - 00:03h
Chelsea is very close to signing Jules Koundé. The Londoners offer 65 million euros for the central defender, a figure well above what FC Barcelona would offer. Even so, in Catalonia they trust that the player will discard the offer
Jules Koundé could sign for Chelsea in the next few hours, as long as the central defender agrees to leave for Stamford Bridge. The 'blue' team offers 65 million euros for the transfer, according to various British media. The offer would arrive in Seville shortly and the 23-year-old will have the last word. In 2021, Thomas Tuchel's men wanted to buy him, but the Andalusians ruled out the 80 'kilos' that the team then owned by Roman Abramovich put on the table.
💥¡El CHELSEA ofrece a KOUNDÉ contrato hasta el año 2027!
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) July 20, 2022
✈️Se está intentando cerrar el acuerdo con el jugador antes de que el Sevilla viaje a Lagos. https://t.co/Fu0SkPTzc3 pic.twitter.com/6kFz6xSkdv
And it is that, for those of Julen Lopetegui, the Frenchman was a key piece in his scheme. The Parisian defender played a total of 134 games at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán between 2019 and 2022, winning the Euroa League in 2020 against Inter Milan, in full confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a contract until 2024, Koundé maintains a value of 60 million euros on Transfermarkt and Sevilla is not willing to let him go for less than that amount.
In that sense, Chelsea do not want to let Jules escape and would offer 55 million pounds (64.72 million euros) shortly. In addition, at Stamford Bridge they will offer him a five-year contract with the guarantee of making him one of the best paid in the squad, with a salary of more than 10 net kilos per season. Meanwhile, the player is silent and Barça maintains hopes of signing him.
In that sense, Xavi Hernández asked for a central defender for this summer and Koundé is the favourite. In addition, there was already a rapprochement with the player and the center-back expressed his desire to be part of the culé sports project, which is why in Catalonia they expect something similar to the 'Raphinha case' to happen. The Brazilian had on the table an offer from Chelsea that was better financially than the Catalans, but he kept his word and waited for Joan Laporta's offer to end up wearing the Blaugrana shirt.
The sale of 15% of television rights, key to signing Koundé
This Thursday, Joan Laporta hopes to finalize the sale of an additional 15% of LaLiga's television rights for the next 25 years in exchange for 400 million euros. With the activation of this 'lever', Barça will be able to enter fully into the bid for Koundé, although their offer will not be as high as Chelsea's. For this reason, it will not be easy to convince the Andalusian board, since in addition to being economically inferior, giving the Frenchman to the culé team is equivalent to reinforcing a direct rival. That is why the center-back has the last word to solve this 'serial soap opera'.
