Window after window, the Blues never stop reinforcing their squad. Chelsea have set sights on Sevilla’s Jules Kounde, whom the they tried to sign last summer too. Roman Abramovich has invested heavily in his Chelsea team consistently to win the big trophies. His investment reaped results as Chelsea won the Champions League last season, their first since 2012. The one trophy which eluded the Blues, the Club World Cup has also been now conquered, as they defeated Palmeiras in the competition’s latest edition.
However, Chelsea’s struggles in the Premier League continue as they are still to win one since 2017. Chelsea downed the hot favorites Manchester City in their Champions League triumph last year. The expectation was that Tuchel’s men would be serious contenders for the title against Manchester City and Liverpool this season. But as it is evident, Chelsea’s title hopes are all but over as they sit 24 points behind leaders Manchester City. As a result, Abramovich will support Thomas Tuchel’s summer transfer plans in order to turn things around.
Chelsea to go all out for Jules Kounde
Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger have formed a solid partnership in defense for Chelsea. Trevoh Chalobah, Malang Sarr and Andres Christensen have also chipped-in some incredible displays. However, their defensive fragility is now crystal clear as Chelsea have won only 3 of their last 10 league games. Their defense has also managed only 2 clean-sheets in those 10 games. It is obvious that the club cannot rely only on Silva and Rudiger. Moreover, Antonio Rudiger looks all set to leave the club as his contract expires this summer and no significant development is seen in hi extension.
Tuchel has identified a center-back which he wants for his team, and it is Sevilla’s Jules Kounde. Kounde’s breakthrough 2020/21 season with Sevilla attracted lucrative offers from Europe’s top clubs, but the club refused to let their prized asset go. Kounde has so far made 116 appearances for Sevilla, helping the club keep an impressive 59 clean-sheets in those. The 23-year-old center-back is a good distributor of the ball too, a quality similar to Thiago Silva. Kounde has a massive 106 accurate long-balls and a pass completion rate of 87% in 27 appearances this season. Tuchel wants the 23-year-old Kounde to be a part of Chelsea core for the future, along with other young talents in Sarr, Chalobah, Mount, Reece James, Havertz, Hudson Odoi, Pulisic who all are under the age of 25.
Sevilla put a hefty price tag on Kounde
Chelsea were front-runners last summer to sign Kounde. Kounde even had personal terms agreed with the Blues last summer as reported by Fabrizio Romano. However, Sevilla were unimpressed by Chelsea’s reported €50 million bid. Sevilla’s reluctance to sell him was respected by Kounde who stayed. And now Sevilla have slapped a whopping price tag on Kounde. The Spanish side wants €80 million for their blistering talent.
Roman Abramovich is ready to splash the €80 million amount after as he willing to back Tuchel in every way possible. Abramovich is thrilled with Chelsea’s Euphoric success under the Thomas Tuchel as he has now completed the set of Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup all in one season. As a result Chelsea will again go for their top-target Jules Kounde as confirmed by Fabrizio Romano. Just at the weekend, Romano trough his official twitter handle conveyed: “Chelsea have Jules Kounde as top target in their summer list, as reported days ago. Not the only candidate – but still appreciated after deal collapsed with Sevilla last August. Sevilla wanted €65/70m last summer.”
Tuchel is targeting a squad as big and talented as Manchester City to compete and win the Premier League. The Blues have identified many more potential signings for the summer transfer window along with Kounde. Not only the signings, some departures could also be seen at Stamford Bridge as Rudiger and Christensen look set to leave come summer. As of now, Chelsea are still fighting for three trophies in the League Cup, FA cup and their quest to retain the Champions League, where they face Lille in round of 16.
