Chelsea beat off competition from Barcelona to win race for Jules Kounde

Jules Kounde is set to become Chelsea’s third summer signing, but head coach Thomas Tuchel has warned captain Cesar Azpilicueta that he may not be granted a move to Barcelona.

Chelsea look to have beaten off competition from Barca for Kounde. They have agreed to pay Sevilla in the region of £55 million and have offered the defender a five-year contract.

Having signed Raheem Sterling in a deal worth £50m and Kalidou Koulibaly for £34m, Chelsea’s new owners have now already committed £139m to new signings since taking over the club with more deals to follow.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta appeared to concede defeat in the race to sign Kounde by telling a supporter in Las Vegas that the 23-year-old will move to Chelsea.

Speaking at Universal Studios in Orlando on Friday, Tuchel refused to be drawn on Kounde but insisted his arrival would not automatically trigger Azpilicueta’s departure to Barcelona - particularly with the Spaniards unwilling to pay anywhere near what Chelsea spent on Koulibaly.

And Tuchel admitted he is not entirely happy with Barcelona’s pursuit of Azpilicueta, who still has 12 months remaining on his contract.

“I’m not sure if I want to give Azpi what he wants because at some point it’s also about us,” said Tuchel. “I use the example of Koulibaly who we pushed so hard for. He is a national player, he is a similar age as Azpi, the captain of Napoli. We have a Spanish international player, the captain of Chelsea and I see him maybe on the same level as Koulibaly but Barcelona does not see him on that level, so I’m not so sure I want to give Azpi what he wants because he’s a huge player.”

Asked if he has been annoyed by Barcelona’s aggressive pursuit of Azpilicueta, Tuchel replied: “Maybe a little bit.”

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