Sevilla have admitted that Chelsea are among the prime candidates to sign Jules Kounde - with the player ready for a new challenge.
The LaLiga club’s general manager Jose Maria Cruz de Andres has defended their decision to rebuff the Blues’ bid for Kounde last summer, in the hope that he would improve and command a higher price.
The France international is reportedly nearing a £65million move to Chelsea to form part of Thomas Tuchel’s side next season, although the Sevilla chief asserted that they are not the club interested in Kounde.
“The player, I am sure, respects Sevilla,” he told Sport Witness. “He is happy with us. In the case of Kounde, it is not a matter of money. It’s a matter of him wanting to play in a more competitive team than Sevilla.
“I am sure he is a player that is attractive for teams like Chelsea, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and these types of teams. He wants to play in a more competitive team.
“It’s the same case we had some years ago with [Clement] Lenglet. He was very happy, but he thought after playing some years at Sevilla, he was prepared to go to Barcelona.
“The first time we received an offer for him was a season before he was transferred. [Lenglet] and his father told us they didn’t want to leave Sevilla then because they preferred to stay here and play a lot of matches.”
