Chelsea Set To Lose Out On Another Target To Barcelona

It’s fair to say that Chelsea and Barcelona aren’t the best of friends right now. Not only have the Spanish giants poached Andreas Christensen from them, but they're also attempting to recruit Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta and fellow defender Marcos Alonso. But, if all that wasn’t enough, after stealing Raphinha from their grasp, Xavi’s side are now in the driving seat to sign Jules Kounde, another Chelsea target.

It's been a slight disaster at Chelsea of late, with Roman Abramovich being forced into selling the club, and key people behind the scenes leaving with him. The Romelu Lukaku return didn’t work out as planned, and now he’s back at Inter on loan. And Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both departed in free transfers to Spain, joining Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively.

The arrivals of Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly have calmed the waters, so to speak, but with Azpilicueta and Alonso, both expected to move to Barcelona eventually and another key target in Raphinha heading to the Camp Nou, relations between the two clubs have become strained. But, with a defence to rebuild, if the Stamford Bridge outfit misses out on Jules Kounde to Barcelona, it will be another bitter blow to the club and manager Thomas Tuchel.

It was expected that Chelsea, led by new co-owner Tom Boehly, would be looking to spend the funds and recruit the quality necessary to close the gap between themselves and the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City. But, at present, they continue to struggle to get deals over the line, with the arrivals of Sterling and Koulibaly only really replacing the holes left by others who have departed.

Kounde, a long-term target for Chelsea, has been close to a move to Stamford Bridge previously. But the Sevilla defender has often stalled at the final moments, with it looking like the twenty-three-year-old isn’t entirely convinced about the switch to the Premier League. And now it’s possible that Barcelona, who are also long-term admirers of the Frenchman, could be ready to finance a deal to take him to the Camp Nou.

Chelsea, who are definitely in the market for central defenders, were also keen on bringing Nathan Ake back to the club, a player they sold to Bournemouth in 2017. But, Ake is said to have rebuffed the opportunity to stay and fight for his place a Manchester City, in another blow for Tuchel and Chelsea.

Where Chelsea go now, especially where rebuilding their defence is concerned, is unclear. They could swoop for PSG’s Presnel Kimpembe, who is said to be looking to leave the French champions this summer if the right move becomes available. But they’d have to splash the cash to convince both PSG to sell and Kimpembe to sign, but it may have to come to that, or the London outfit could start the new season understaffed at the back.