Barcelona have asked Kounde to remain patient amid Chelsea rumours – report

Chelsea have recently made a major breakthrough in their pursuit of Jules Kounde by reaching an agreement with Sevilla.

While the agreement does not guarantee the arrival of the young defender, it is a major step forward, especially with the Premier League giants also prepared to shell out an eye-catching salary of €12 million per season to the player.

Such a lucrative deal is bound to attract Kounde. But despite the odds, Barcelona are preparing one last assault, in an attempt to hijack the deal.

Aware of Kounde’s desire to join Xavi’s setup at Camp Nou, Barça are expected to make a final offer, one that may not match Chelsea’s proposal but could be tantalising enough for the defender to dump the Blues.

According to Alex Pintanel, Barcelona are asking Kounde to remain patient and delay the talks with Chelsea as much as he can. The club are poised to make another offer, which may hand him a more lucrative salary than the €6 million initially offered.

The club have activated the second economic lever recently by sanctioning the sale of 15% TV rights.

The transaction may generate up to €330 million, and although much of that sum will be used to pay off the debts, Barça may look to generate more money by either selling 49% of Barça Studios or midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

The sale of one of these two assets could be enough for Barcelona to balance the books ahead of the new season and possibly fund the move for Kounde, although the club still will not be in a position to match Chelsea’s offer.

Nevertheless, Pintanel suggests the fate of this transfer saga is in the hands of Kounde himself, and it will be up to him to decide between Barcelona and Chelsea, as he looks to take the next step in his career.