Xavi pushing for a new right-back to fulfil his promise to Barcelona summer arrival

Barcelona had to stave off serious competition from Premier League bigwigs Chelsea this past summer in order to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla.

The defender has since revealed that his conversations with manager Xavi Hernandez were key to him opting to sign for the Blaugrana instead of the west London giants.

Elaborating on that, journalist Toni Juanmarti has now revealed that back in the summer, ex-Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel viewed Kounde as an option for the right wing-back role, which made him reluctant over a move to Stamford Bridge.

At the same time, Barça boss Xavi promised Kounde that he will play as a centre-half at Spotify Camp Nou and that he will help the 23-year-old form the best centre-back pairing in the world alongside Ronald Araujo.

This is believed to have played a pivotal role in Kounde opting to sign for Barcelona.

However, injuries and a lack of quality options have meant that the French international has been often asked to play at right-back by Xavi over the course of the season. And the ex-Sevilla ace has done well in the position.

Furthermore, Kounde is also being deployed as a right-back by France manager Didier Deschamps at the FIFA World Cup 2022 and he has excelled again.

But, Xavi is aware that Kounde does not favour playing at right-back and is keen on keeping his word to the 23-year-old defender.

As a result, he is pushing the club to sign a new player in the position in January, so that the summer arrival could go back to playing as a centre-half. Kounde, for his part, is hoping that the manager keeps his promise made in the summer.

But, Financial Fair Play issues have meant that Barça are not in a solid enough position to bring in a new right-back. At the same time, the Catalans do not have a total consensus on any particular target for the position either despite having been linked with several names.