According to the Evening Standard, Chelsea have turned to Tottenham and Newcastle target Jules Kounde after failing to sign Nathan Ake from Manchester City.
What’s the story?
Well, it was said that the Citizens had accepted a £45m bid from Chelsea for the Netherlands international.
However, Ake will now be staying at the Etihad Stadium, after a mutual decision was made between the Dutchman and Manchester City – according to The Athletic.
Now, Thomas Tuchel has turned his attention to Kounde, a player who is also on the radar of Antonio Conte and Eddie Howe.
It was said that Spurs are leading the race to sign the France international, who is keen on a move to the Premier League.
Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in signing Kounde, with Sevilla holding out for his £76m release clause to be met.
The Evening Standard believe the 23-year-old was a priority signing under Roman Abramovich, but was relegated to a backup option by Todd Boehly as moves for Kalidou Koulibaly, Ake and Matthijs de Ligt were prioritised.
However, the Blues are now set to make a serious push for Kounde, after De Ligt made it clear he wanted to join Bayern Munich, and Ake chose to stay at Manchester City.
Interest in Kounde comes after he made 44 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring three goals.
Chelsea pose serious threat to Tottenham & Newcastle
In our view, Chelsea will be fierce competitors in the race to sign Kounde.
So far this summer, Tuchel has lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, with Cesar Azpilicueta also likely to leave Stamford Bridge.
Therefore, Chelsea are pushing hard to sign a multitude of central defenders, with Paris Saint-Germain colossus Presnel Kimpembe next in line to arrive once a deal for Koulibaly is sorted.
It has been said that Tuchel wants three central defenders, so with the focus now on Kounde, we fully expect Chelsea to make good progress in their pursuit of the Frenchman.
As a result, it is time for Tottenham and Newcastle to show how serious they are about signing the Sevilla gem, or else we fear they will be beaten to his signature by Chelsea.
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