€65 million or nothing: Sevilla want Barcelona to match Chelsea’s offer for Kounde

Jules Kounde is currently the talk of the town in Barcelona. The 23-year-old centre-back was said to be keen on joining the Catalans this summer but is now edging ever so close to signing for Chelsea.

While the London-based club have already made a formal offer for the defender, the Blaugranas are still at the verbal agreement stage.

The activation of the second economic lever was thought to be the turning point in the club’s pursuit of Kounde but recent reports state otherwise.

Nathan Gissing has reported that Sevilla will not accept a bid lower than Chelsea’s offer. The Premier League side has proposed a five-year contract with a transfer fee of €55 million and are pushing to seal the deal in the coming hours.

Moreover, it has also been reported that Chelsea is offering Kounde a salary of €12 million per season while the Catalans’ proposal is half as much. Seemingly, the gap is too wide for Xavi’s side to clear.

Thomas Tuchel’s men lost two of their starting centre-backs on free transfers this summer but have already acquired the services of Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli. With Jules Kounde, they hope to find their other starting defender.

It remains to be seen if Barcelona go all out to sign the Sevilla defender or look for alternatives.

If the youngster decides against joining the Azulgranas, Pau Torres, Inigo Martinez and Willian Saliba are the other names on the table. Yet, there is little debate that Kounde is the most talented defender of the available options.