Chelsea bear the brunt again as Barcelona reportedly complete major Jules Kounde deal

Chelsea target Jules Kounde is finally moving to FC Barcelona after the Catalan club agreed on a deal with Sevilla for the French defender. Kounde has been the target of Premier League side Chelsea following the departure of Antonio Rudiger to Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen to Barcelona but the Frenchman preferred moving to Camp Nou over Stamford Bridge. The French defender made 133 appearances for the Andalusian club and earned eleven caps for the French national team.

Barcelona news: Jules Kounde agrees on Camp Nou move

According to Goal.com both Barcelona and Seville have agreed on Jules Kounde transfer for a base fee of €50 million ($50m/£42m) plus add-ons. As per the report, Kounde is expected to sign a four-year contract that will run until 2026. The 23-year-old joined Sevilla from Bordeaux for around €25m, and they are due a percentage of the fee from his switch to Camp Nou.

Jules Kounde Chelsea transfer was hijacked by Barcelona despite the London club's willingness to meet Sevilla’s demands for a £55m fee. Koundé is a versatile player who can play as a right-sided centre-back, a right-back and a right wing-back. Besides Kounde Barcelona is looking to sign the Chelsea duo of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso however the blues are unlikely to let go of two players following Barcelona's behaviour.

Barcelona summer transfers

Jules Kounde became Barcelona's sixth summer signing following the arrivals of Pablo Torre, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.  According to ESPN report, Barcelona has been able to sign players by the sale of 25% of their domestic television rights to the investment firm Sixth Street for the next 25 years for around €530m. The rights are worth around €160m annually to the Catalan club. 

In June, Barcelona earned the approval of its club members to sell 25 per cent of its Spanish league TV rights for a projected total of around 450 million euros (USD 457 million). The club run by president Joan Laporta also said last month that it is seeking a buyer for 49 per cent of the company Barcelona operates to negotiate its licensing rights and merchandising. The club hopes to get between 200-300 million euros (USD 203-304 million) in return for that potential third deal.