Sevilla chief name-drops Chelsea as he gives confident Kounde transfer update

Sevilla director of football Monchi has provided an update on the future of French defender Jules Kounde amid interest from Chelsea this summer.

The Blues have been linked with a number of centre-backs as they look to replace Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, who have joined Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively on free transfers.

While Manchester City 's Nathan Ake, RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol and Juventus ' Matthijs de Ligt have all been linked with interest from the Blues relatively recently, Chelsea have held interest in Kounde for some time and with Thomas Tuchel's side likely to be in the market for multiple centre-backs this summer, now seems to be the time for a deal to be struck.

Sport Witness have claimed that Barcelona, who completed the free signing of Christensen on Monday afternoon, are also interested in potentially signing Kounde this summer.

Speaking to Onda Cero, per Mundo Deportivo, about the latest on Kounde's situation, Monchi said that while he is uncertain about where the defender will be playing his football in the 2022/23 campaign, he confirmed there is interest from England, as well as other countries.

"Xavi has good taste wanting Araujo and Kounde as central defenders, it's not a bad partnership. But so far there has been zero contact with Barcelona," said Monchi on reported interest from the Catalan club.

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"I know that Chelsea have to look for two central defenders, but the interest in Kounde comes from England and other countries. I would have to be a fortune teller to know what is going to happen.

"There are calls from everywhere. The money is starting to roll in a bit. Kounde has established himself with France and will play at the World Cup. It's logical that there is interest in him and there is. As of today, he is recovering from injury in Los Angeles and will join in Korea later, like the rest of the internationals."

Last week, reports in the Spanish media claimed that Sevilla and Chelsea held talks over a move for Kounde but could not strike a deal after three days due to a difference in where they saw his value.

Sevilla are believed to want a fixed fee of €60million (£51.6m) and an additional €10m (£8.6m) in add-ons - a valuation Chelsea are reluctant to meet.

While centre-backs are thought to be the club's priority in this transfer window, they have also been linked with a number of wingers and are reportedly in advanced talks to sign City and England forward Raheem Sterling.

A report from The Athletic has also suggested that the Blues are considering submitting an offer to sign Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo this summer following his request to leave the club over the weekend.