The longer the Jules Kounde saga goes on, the less confident that Chelsea fans will be about securing his signature.
While reports of an agreement between Sevilla and Chelsea started to emerge earlier in the week, there is still no movement on the deal. According to Sport, Chelsea have sent all the paperwork to Sevilla but are awaiting the green light from the club and Kounde.
Meanwhile Barcelona, who have not yet made an offer but are widely reported to be after Kounde, are preparing a formal bid for Kounde. Chelsea’s deal is believed to be in the region of €65m in total, but includes add-ons and would be paid in instalments. Barcelona hope that they can persuade Sevilla to accept a lower offer by paying all of the money up front.
Gerard Romero, as cited by Caught Offside, has backed up that idea by claiming that an official bid is on the way from Las Vegas, where Barcelona are on a preseason tour.
Barcelona appear to be attempting a similar strategy to that which worked to bring Raphinha to the club. By convincing the player that Camp Nou is the only place to be, they buy themselves time and a little more rope to negotiate with.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com