Chelsea Leading Barcelona In The Race To Sign Sevilla Defender Kounde

Sport says Barca tried to negotiate to sign him last summer, but Sevilla did not want to sell.

Last year, Barça explored a swap deal, putting Sergino Dest, Oscar Mingueza and Francisco Trincao on the table. But Monchi, Sevilla's sporting director, did not want to let Kounde go.

Sevilla did not need to sell and told Chelsea, who were also keen on him, that they would have to pay his €90m release clause if they wanted him.

Barça was told to add €25m to the three players they offered. Neither Chelsea nor Barcelona reached an agreement and the Frenchman remained at Sevilla for the season.

But the situation has changed this summer. And what he could have been worth one year ago is not the same. Sevilla has a hole in their budget of around 40m euros, due to their early KO from the Champions League.

They had budgeted to reach the quarterfinals. In addition, they were knocked out of the Europa League in the last 16, which did not help.

Therefore, Sevilla, who in January turned down an offer from Newcastle for their other centre-back, Diego Carlos, needs to sell at least one big player.

For that reason, a move to Barça is unlikely for Kounde. Especially considering teams like Chelsea will be back in the mix with more money, if their sale goes through.

Source: Tribalfootball