Chelsea: Boehly thought £55m signing was 'done deal' at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea are looking at other targets after losing out on Jules Kounde, says CBS reporter Ben Jacobs.

Barcelona have confirmed that they have reached an agreement with Sevilla to sign the defender, leaving the west London club needing to consider other options like Leicester City’s Wesley Fofana, who is now thought to be on their radar.

According to The Guardian, Barcelona have agreed to pay Sevilla €50m (£41.9m) for Kounde, less than the £55m Chelsea were offering.

The 23-year-old was of interest to the Blues but, just like what happened with Raphinha, the La Liga side have swooped in and hijacked their move.

Multiple reports suggest that the Blues have now turned their attention to Fofana, with The Guardian claiming that he could cost as much as £85m.

He has a contract up until 2027, meaning Leicester are under no pressure to sell him this transfer window.

With Kounde no longer on the table, Jacobs has told GIVEMESPORT that Thomas Tuchel and Todd Boehly are now looking at other defenders.

Speaking to GMS, the CBS reporter said: “Chelsea thought that Jules Kounde was a done deal or close pending only formalities only for a dramatic U-turn. They are now looking at other targets.”

£85m for Fofana seems like a non-starter, so it would not be a surprise if Chelsea quickly ended their interest in him and turned to someone else.

The Evening Standard recently reported that the Stamford Bridge outfit have been monitoring Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar, so he appears to be another option for them.

According to the newspaper, the Serie A outfit want £59m for the Slovakian. While his team-mate Denzel Dumfries is a right-back, the Dutchman is also believed to be on Tuchel’s radar.

Signing Dumfries would allow Tuchel to move Reece