Jules Kounde celebrates with his French teammates at the World Cup (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Barcelona are reportedly open to making an offer for defender Jules Kounde this summer, following recent interest from Chelsea and Liverpool.
We recently reported that Chelsea are interested in Kounde, but Liverpool could also be in the race for him.
Now, according to a report in Sport, there is some doubt over the future of French team Barça this summer, with the club potentially selling him, but the player himself wants to stay.
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Further information from Fichajes suggests that Kounde’s asking price will be around 65 million euros, which could be an attractive price for some top clubs.
Where is Jules Kounde’s next offer for Barcelona?
Kounde is able to play at a high level either at centre-back or right-back, and has been a fairly consistent performer for Barcelona and the French national team in recent years.
The 27-year-old certainly still has a lot to offer at the highest level, but it is unclear at this stage what his future holds.
Sport suggests that Kounde is no longer considered untouchable, but if he wants to remain at Camp Nou, arranging his departure may be difficult.
Despite previous information that Chelsea were interested in Kounde, there appears to have been no significant updates, with the Blues instead continuing to target top young talent.
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As a result, the West Londoners are likely to sign right-back Marco Palestra instead. Therefore, the need to use Kounde may not be so great.
This is also a major change in strategy from CFC, which has prioritized bringing in young elite players to build its future.
Some fans may wish they were more flexible with that policy, but it’s probably unlikely that Kounde would be the one to make this exception.
Palestra’s arrival could mean Maro Gusto leaves Stamford Bridge, but with Reece James also in that position, it probably doesn’t make much sense to bring in another right-back.
