Defender Jules Kounde May Leave Barcelona This Summer, Chelsea is Interested

Just a week after winning the La Liga title for Barcelona, defender Jules Kounde stands on the verge of leaving the Spanish side. The French international reportedly wants to leave Barcelona as he is not satisfied with his right-back position. A report published by Diario Sport claims that Kounde’s desire to play as a centre-back compelled him to ask Barcelona to let him go. It is being reported that Inigo Martinez’s pending arrival as a free agent could see him move to the right side of the Barcelona defence. Kounde’s wish will, however, not be fulfilled easily as he has not been able to bring any other offer to Barcelona officials.

Jules Kounde has so far played as a right-back on 18 occasions in La Liga and as a centre-back nine times. Barcelona signed Kounde from Sevilla last summer for an initial fee of €50 million (£42m/$50m), and up to €10m (£8.3m/$10.2m) as add-ons. Following his highly anticipated move to Barcelona, he has represented the Catalan giants in 38 games. Kounde has found the back of the net for Barcelona once. In international football, Kounde has till now played 20 matches for France.

Premier League side Chelsea were interested in signing Jules Kounde, months before he joined Barcelona. The London-based side’s bid was, however, rejected by Sevilla. The report published by the above-mentioned outlet claims that Chelsea are now once again interested in landing the French international this summer. Chelsea’s incoming manager Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly interested in deploying Kounde in the Blues backline next season.

Amid Jules Kounde’s uncertain future at Barcelona, head coach Xavi recently talked about the 24-year-old’s situation in the transfer market. “I spoke to him, yes, we were happy and everything was clear. I don’t see any problems. We both came out of the meeting happy,” Xavi had reportedly said in the Jose Zorrilla press room.

Meanwhile, Barcelona conceded their first defeat last week since winning the La Liga title. They were overpowered by Real Sociedad 1-2 at the Camp Nou. In their next match, Xavi’s men were thrashed 3-1 by Real Valladolid. Barcelona claimed their first La Liga title since the 2018-19 season with four games to spare by winning against city rivals Espanyol.