Barcelona urge Jules Koundé to wait with Chelsea close to agreeing £55m fee

Barcelona are still trying to muscle in on Chelsea’s attempt to sign the Sevilla centre-back Jules Koundé.

Chelsea have held extensive talks with Sevilla this week and are close to an agreement on a fee in the region of £55m for Koundé. However Barça are also interested in the France defender and could fund a bid if they sell a stake in their merchandising arm.

Koundé, who has been left out of Sevilla’s pre-season trip to Portugal, is believed to be open to joining either Chelsea or Barça. It is understood that the 23-year-old has agreed terms on a five-year deal with Chelsea, who want to sign three centre-backs.

Thomas Tuchel needs to strengthen his defence after losing Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers. Chelsea, who have signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli for £33.8m, have targeted Koundé for over a year and are also in talks with Paris Saint-Germain over a deal for Presnel Kimpembe. Josko Gvardiol is an option if PSG keep Kimpembe, though RB Leipzig do not want to sell.

Chelsea’s owners are determined to back Tuchel in the transfer market. However, negotiations over some targets are proving tricky. Chelsea missed out on Nathan Aké after Manchester City decided not to sell the Netherlands defender, and they were also frustrated in their attempts to strengthen their attack when Barça won the race to sign Raphinha from Leeds.

Now Barça are trying to disrupt Chelsea’s plans again. The Catalan club’s manager, Xavi Hernández, is a huge admirer of Koundé.

It is understood that Barça, who have experienced major financial problems, have urged Koundé to wait for them to meet Sevilla’s asking price. However, others have questioned whether Barça have the funds available after signing Robert Lewandowski