Barcelona have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Sevilla for the transfer of Jules Kounde.
The French international was a major target for Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, who also lost out on the signing of Raphinha to the Catalan giants.
Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso, meanwhile, are both keen on swapping Stamford Bridge for the Camp Nou, potentially following a path already taken by Andreas Christensen this summer.
Kounde would be Barca’s third major signing after they sold 25% of their Spanish league television rights for the next 25 years as they try to both claw their way out of staggering debt and rebuild a competitive team after failing to win a trophy last season.
Already this month they have secured the transfers of striker Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich and Raphinha from Leeds for around a combined 110 million euros (roughly £92m).
Kounde, both fast in defence and an attacking threat from set pieces, has been considered one of the most promising young players at his position in the Spanish league since joining Sevilla in 2019 for 25 million euros (around £20.9m) from French club Bordeaux.
Kounde helped Sevilla win the Europa League in 2020 and scored nine goals in 133 appearances for the Andalusian club.
He also won the 2021 Nations League with France, beating Spain the final.
He now would join a central defence undergoing a transition with 35-year-old Gerard Pique playing alongside 23-year-old Ronald Araujo and 21-year-old Eric Garcia.
Agreement in principle with Sevilla for the transfer of @jkeey4
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 28, 2022
Barcelona have also added midfielder Franck Kessie and defender Christensen, who arrived as free agents this summer, in addition to signing Ousmane Dembele to a new contract.
