Considering that all of Chelsea's transfer activities have been put on hold, Newcastle might get their January transfer wish in summer. It's with a heavy heart that I say that a Jules Kounde transfer may no longer be on the cards.
There are too many factors working against Chelsea right now. As Andreas Christensen waits for the right time to announce his move to Barcelona, Chelsea will be stuck looking for a right-sided centre-back option.
I cannot imagine a world where Newcastle takes one of Sevilla's starting centre-back options and still sell the other to Chelsea. The Magpies have the upper hand, and it could bite Chelsea in the backside. This could foreshadow a lifetime of living in Newcastle's shadow - especially if the rumours about Saudi Media Group are true.
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In fear of history repeating itself, Chelsea had made early advances ahead of the summer transfer window to secure Kounde from Sevilla. With negotiations simply continuing from last summer's transfer window, it was expected to be Chelsea's priority target this time around. Now that sanctions have been imposed on Roman Abramovich, the transfer window is looking to be somewhat of a fiasco.
Chelsea could face losing Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Christensen simply because they cannot negotiate new contracts from within. The government sanctions have been clear. No can be done as long as Roman Abramovich is still the club's owner.
Sevilla reportedly wants to sign Lazio's 24-year-old centre-back Luiz Felipe according to Mundo Deportivo. With that being said, a new partnership may be formed for the Sevillistas as Diego Carlos piques the interest of Newcastle. Newcastle made a £30m bid for the Brazilian defender in January. It was rejected as Sevilla's asking price started from at least £38m. If Newcastle is serious about this move, they will be working behind the scenes to undercut Chelsea before they can resume business as usual.
It's a case now of who will get there first. Will Sevilla allow both star centre-backs to leave, or is it a first-come, first-served basis?
Considering that Newcastle has recently been taken over and is now heavily funded by Saudi Arabia's elite, there will be no issues acquiring any available player they set their eyes on. They recently signed Kieran Tripper, Chris Wood, and Bruno Guimaraes, costing over £71m. The Blues will be competing against tough competition, especially with the unknown lurking of who Chelsea's next owners are?
With The Saudi Media Group making an offer of £2.7 billion to buy Chelsea, It would be interesting to see how well the Saudi powerhouses will work together when it comes to transfers. This may cause a bumping of heads when similar transfer targets are on the radar for both clubs, or they could work together to avoid stepping on each other's territory. Despite being Chelsea fans' clear favourite for the takeover, the consortium's interest can still be blocked as Chelsea reaches the final day to decide.
Hopefully, Chelsea's situation will be sorted sooner rather than later to avoid missing out on Kounde and avoid the beginning of a weird relationship with new money Newcastle.
