Man Utd and Chelsea transfer boost as ‘Barcelona OPEN to offers for star man as relationship with chiefs deteriorates’
BARCELONA are open to offers for defender Jules Kounde this summer as they continue in their struggle to balance the books, according to reports.
Last year’s LaLiga champions are not having a good season as they flounder in third place, 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Things escalated when manager Xavi Hernandez announced he would quit Barca this summer, declaring the club had gone past “the point of no return.”.
Another allegedly joining the mass exodus from Nou Camp this summer is Frankie de Jong, whose potential exit has sent Chelsea and Manchester United into a transfer war.
According to Deportivo Mundo, Kounde, 25, is not happy with the way things are going at Barca.
The centre-back is repeatedly forced to play at right-back, a position he has privately and publicly stated he does not like.
Kounde has not been at his usual standard on the right and has to compete with Ronald Araujo, Inigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi and Andreas Christensen for his desired position.
Despite assurances that he would return to centre back with the arrival of Joao Cancelo last summer, Kounde continues to find himself in the full-back role.
But Hernandez’s ‘overbooking’ of centre-backs means they are in a good position to release one at the end of the season.
The Frenchman, who only joined Sevilla in 2022, allegedly will be the first to go.
Manchester United and Chelsea are both in the running to take advantage of Barca’s predicament.
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The Red Devils were linked with the defender when he was at Sevilla and apparently their interest has been re-ignited as Ten Hag looks to revamp his defensive ranks.
The Blues have also shown interest in Kounde over the years, but lost out in 2022 when the defender chose Camp Nou over Stamford Bridge.
Kounde was even on the cusp of a deal with Chelsea the previous year, with the London team harbouring a strong belief that the move was inevitable once the Todd Boehly takeover was complete.
Chelsea have also renewed their interest in Nou Camp teammate Pau Cubarsi, 17.
With his staggeringly low release clause, the wonderkid has also attracted the interest of Premier League giants Manchester City.