Barcelona admit chances of signing Koundé are “complicated”
Barcelona understand that their chances of signing the Sevilla centre-back are looking slim, although they point out that the player will decide where he ends up.
With each day that passes, Jules Koundé is edging further away from Barça. Or at least that’s the feeling at the Catalan club in recent days. “It’s very, very complicated,” a top club official replied when asked about the Sevilla centre-back. Chelsea, who have placed an offer of around 65 million euros, look the best positioned to land the French defender.
Not that Barcelona have lost all hope. They know that ultimately it will be the player who has the last word. And that’s where the Blaugranas have played their cards well, with Xavi Hernández using his influence by calling the player personally to ask him for a little patience.
Pre-season stage in South Korea and England
And that’s exactly what Koundé has done. He signed up for Sevilla’s pre-season trip to South Korea when he was initially left out of the list. In doing so, he gives Barcelona a few more hours to activate their second economic ploy, estimated to raise over 300 million euros, which would allow them to finance such the operation to bring in the France international.
Barcelona are also aware that Koundé's case could end up being similar to that of Raphinha. The 23-year-old could end up coming to Barcelona, ignoring better offers from other clubs. At the same time, they recognise that some things are going against them and that their plan could end up backfiring.