Sevilla ‘fear Man United will swoop in for Jules Kounde in January’ to seize Chelsea’s plans
According to Spanish media, Sevilla are concerned that Manchester United may be planning a January move for defender Jules Kounde.
In the summer, the LaLiga club rejected a £42.5 million bid from Chelsea for the Frenchman, demanding that the Blues meet their £69 million asking price.
However, Thomas Tuchel is still interested in the centre-back, and Chelsea have identified Kounde and Matthijs De Ligt as potential new centre-back options for next season.
Sevilla are now concerned that they will lose Kounde in the upcoming transfer window, but it is Chelsea’s Premier League rivals United who are the source of the concern.
According to AS, the Red Devils could swoop in and beat Chelsea to Kounde’s signature as they look to address their own defensive issues.
Summer signee Raphael Varane’s start at Manchester United has been marred by injury, while Harry Maguire’s struggles have continued.
According to the report, United, who are currently sixth in the table after four defeats, are keeping an eye on the defender and may meet Sevilla’s demands.
Meanwhile, Chelsea will be looking to bolster their defensive ranks, as Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, and Andreas Christensen are set to leave the club at the end of the season when their contracts expire, unless the Blues can tie them down to new contracts.
Tuchel, however, has refused to confirm that Chelsea will pursue the same players they did in the summer.
“I think every transfer period you need to evaluate again,’ Tuchel said, via the Express.
“You cannot say what we wanted in the summer, we do in the winter. And what we want to do in winter, we want to do the next summer. It is not like this.
“Your opinion changes, players change, you have evolvement in the group, you have an atmosphere that you build, you see who is absolutely reliable and these connections build up and create something special hopefully in the group.”
Sevilla is chasing the LaLiga title, and losing Kounde midway through the season would be devastating.
The Andalusians have only lost once in the Spanish top flight this season and have the best defensive record, conceding only seven goals, leaving them one point behind leaders Real Sociedad.
Kounde has been instrumental in their near-immaculate defensive record, leading the team to six clean sheets in the ten games he has played this season.
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Sevilla ‘fear Man United will swoop in for Jules Kounde in January’ to seize Chelsea’s plans
