Sevilla chief Monchi has revealed that Jules Kounde WAS ‘sold’ to Chelsea prior to the Frenchman signing for Barcelona.
Kounde has been a well-established target of Chelsea’s since last summer. For some time, it appeared as though it was a foregone conclusion that the player would head to Stamford Bridge.
However, Kounde has now been formally announced as a Barcelona player, which leaves Chelsea with no choice but to continue their search for defensive reinforcements ahead of the start of the season.
While the general understanding is that Kounde snubbed Chelsea in favour of a move to Barcelona, Sevilla chief Monchi has now claimed that it was actually Chelsea’s decision to pull out of the deal.
“On Thursday night Koundé was ‘sold’ to Chelsea. They began to have doubts and pulled out.”
— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) July 29, 2022
It does seem rather bizarre for Chelsea to surrender Kounde to Barca when Thomas Tuchel has been vocal in his desire for at least one more centre-back and we are so close to the new season.
That said, if they were legitimately having second thoughts about the deal at the eleventh hour, then it was probably for the best to pull out, especially considering they’d be forking out a huge sum.
Ultimately, whether or not this will prove to be the right decision depends on who Chelsea are able to get through the door instead. It has to be an upgrade on Kounde, otherwise this was a naive move in the market.
