Fabrizio Romano has claimed on his YouTube channel that Jules Kounde has informed Barcelona that he would be willing to accept the personal terms they have proposed to him.
The Frenchman has been in the centre of yet another transfer saga between the Catalan side and Chelsea, with the Blues originally firmly believed to be favourites to complete a transfer.
Despite apparently agreeing a fee with Sevilla for the transfer, Todd Boehly and his team have seemingly been unable to secure the deal up to this point.
This has allowed Barcelona to swoop in and contact the defender themselves, with Romano claiming they have now reached an agreement over a potential contract.
He said: “It’s gonna be something crazy in the coming hours. In the last hours on Sunday morning, the message they received from Jules Kounde’s camp is that the player would be prepared to accept personal terms proposal they have received from Barcelona.
Kounde open to Barcelona’s terms
“He would be happy and ready to join Barcelona. This is the feeling internally. Of course, this doesn’t mean the deal is done, because we know there is all the part on Sevilla’s side, and Sevilla spent the whole weekend with their best sources saying their only negotiation is with Chelsea.
“But at the same time, Jules Kounde is open to join Barca and Xavi Hernandez called him again and again. Xavi’s pushing, and Jules Kounde is waiting for Barcelona and gave the green light to this potential transfer.”
Blues fans will be having flashbacks of the Raphinha saga, where the Brazilian held out for the Spanish side despite Chelsea agreeing a fee with Leeds United.
It’s difficult to not worry about the current situation, especially after the weekend’s embarrassing defeat against Arsenal. It is clear the Blues need more reinforcements at the back that are able to play in a four-back system, having seen the shortcomings of the current crop in the first half of that game.
The club are still rumoured to be interested in Presnel Kimpembe, a defender Thomas Tuchel has worked with before, although they face the difficulty of testing his loyalty to PSG.
The Blues should consider tabling an offer for Josko Gvardiol, with the young defender already enjoying success with RB Leipzig. It has been reported that he is currently on the list as a backup, however with less than two weeks until the season the club need to act quickly to ensure they’re prepared for Everton.
