Tottenham Hotspur want centre back options this summer, but bringing Sevilla defender Jules Kounde to North London doesn’t look easy.
Gianluca Di Marzio reported last week that Tottenham had agreed a deal worth £25.5million plus Davinson Sanchez for Kounde, and was waiting for an answer from the Frenchman.
Marca then claimed that Kounde had rejected a move to Tottenham in search of Champions League football, which Spurs just can’t offer right now.
The move has gone a little quiet since, but Fabrizio Romano has offered some more information on the pursuit.
Romano has told Matt Hayes that Paratici has been pursuing Kounde for weeks and has a great relationship with Kounde’s agency, branding the link ‘so good’.
Romano added that Kounde is waiting for something better than a move to Tottenham in order to play in the Champions League.
“Tottenham are working on a deal for Kounde for weeks, since Paratici arrived, because he is focusing on centre backs and he started to talk with Sevilla and also talking directly with the player and his agents,” said Romano. “The relationship with the agents is so good, but at the moment, the player prefers to wait for something different because he wants to play Champions League football,” he added.
Kounde is represented by the Excellence Sports Nation agency, who also have AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and former Rangers man Bongani Zungu on their books.
Paratici hasn’t signed any of them in the past, but seemingly still has a great relationship with ESN.
That could help Tottenham down the line, but they will ultimately need to convince Kounde more than anything else.
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