Not again, surely not again. Chelsea thought they were home and dry. They might have had serious plans for the announcement video. The link up in defence would have been something to behold. It can't happen again, can it?
Just as the Blues looked to have made their decisive move in a year long game of chess, the board gets given another shake up and things could leave their hands once more. Jules Kounde, nearly a Chelsea player on two occasions now, might have to wait a little bit longer to find out who his next club will be.
It had been expected to be Todd Boehly's Chelsea as the American, aided by Behdad Eghbali, submitted a £55m offer for the player on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 20. The Blues made a key move at a key time for a key target and looked to have beaten other interested parties to the signing.
READ MORE: Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui decision hints at Jules Kounde's Chelsea transfer being 'done deal'
As has been the case all summer, Barcelona were part of that background. Joan Laporta holds interest in Kounde and offers an in-league move for the player which adds another level of complication to a deal that has already taken twists and turns over the last 12 months. There were several questions for the Spanish club to think of before entering any talks for the 23-year-old, though.
Firstly, would Sevilla want to sell him to a rival? The answer is no, they would prefer to sell him to Chelsea. That didn't put Xavi's side off though, personal terms wouldn't be an issue and both clubs are believed to have gotten to that stage with Kounde. The third and most important question is, could Barcelona afford him?
The honest answer for most is that nobody really knows anymore. Barcelona are effectively selling the long-term soul of the club to fund this transfer window and given their current and still rising financial issues, signing a £55m player that has all but agreed a move to another club wouldn't be a way to resolve these problems.
Chelsea had known that the threat of Barcelona existed, though when they made the move to submit an offer that fitted Sevilla's valuation for Kounde, they put the ball into the court of the Spaniards and might have thought that all but removed Barcelona from proceedings.
However, the Catalan club are now thought to have activated their second 'lever', a way of selling a percentage of the club's TV rights over 25 years, to fund more of the club's actions this summer. The whole process is a complex one which involves paying a percentage of the TV rights money to investors that have helped to pay off their debt. This then not only allows them to clear the debt but also spend money on buying players.
This has already hit snags whereby they are on a one-in-one-out policy for registering players with La Liga and there are thought to be further wage constraints, too. This is one of the reasons that the club are still open to selling Frenkie De Jong, who is ironically a target for Chelsea.
The matter has come at a terrible time for Thomas Tuchel though. As he watches from afar, tracking the details of negotiations from the club's pre-season tour of America, Barcelona could find themselves with a cash injection of up to £700m.
It is understood that not all of this would be readily available for purchasing players but there is a chance that the funds that weren't available to offer in return for Kounde last week are now close to being on the table.
The advantage still lies with Chelsea, as Ben Jacobs reports that the player would prefer the personal terms offered to him in London, and Sevilla's director of football, Monchi, has set an ultimatum for an all-cash offer for Kounde. If this was to go through and there was to be a challenging offer from Barcelona, not only could it delay the move, it could also turn Kounde's head and waste yet more of Chelsea's precious time.
This then makes it extremely important for Boehly and co to act quickly as any time they can take away from Barcelona could be vital.
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