Sevilla has reportedly sought to dispel rumors that Barcelona snuck into Chelsea’s Jules Kounde deal at the last minute and insists they haven’t received an offer.
Kounde’s £55 million transfer to Stamford Bridge seemed to be a formality on Friday night, but early on Saturday, rumors in Spain claimed there had been some major changes.
It was alleged that Barca and Sevilla had spent the entire night in protracted negotiations, during which Mateu Alemany, the director of football, was able to reach a preliminary understanding.
Kounde would appreciate a transfer to Stamford Bridge, but his desire is to sign with Barcelona. He was even more persuaded by a phone contact with Ousmane Dembele, a teammate from another country.
However, according to Mundo Deportivo, Sevilla has insisted that there has been “zero contact” with their Barca counterparts, indicating that the reports have been exaggerated.
They have only reached a fee agreement with one club thus far, Chelsea, and they are still awaiting the west Londoners to file the necessary paperwork to complete the transfer.
Kounde is, however, willing to put off making a definitive decision until Barcelona can come up with the necessary transfer cost, even though Sevilla would not be happy with that.
The Spanish club is sick of the transfer situation and wants to get rid of Kounde as soon as possible so they can start reinvesting in their own team with the money.
El Chiringuito, on the other hand, has gone even further and claims that Sevilla has branded the rumors that Barca and Kounde had agreed on a sum as completely false and believes they are an attempt to derail the sale.
More information regarding the deal’s status is anticipated later on Saturday since the executives of Chelsea and Barcelona are both now in the United States on pre-season tours.
After intensifying negotiations at the conclusion of last week, Chelsea were quite optimistic about acquiring Kounde, and Tuchel appeared to be in a positive frame of mind when he talked to the media on Friday.
He was asked about Kounde, and he responded, “No news,” while grinning broadly. If there are any updates on Jules Kounde, I’ll let you know.
Tuchel once more smiled broadly and retorted, “That’s what you say, but I will not start commenting on other players,” in response to the claim that Kounde had shunned Barca.