Barcelona beats Chelsea sign Jules Kounde

Barcelona and Sevilla have reached an agreement for the signing of French defender Jules Kounde. The Catalonians have had to endure a tussle with Premier League club Chelsea before this milestone of the saga.

The agreed transfer fee is set at €50M with add-ons included along with a 4-year contract with the Camp Nou side. Xavi has been insistent on getting Jules Kounde despite signing Andreas Christensen on a free transfer.

Barcelona have also managed to sign Raphinha from Leeds United, Frank Kessie on a free, and Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.

However, with Kounde, Barcelona are expected to add €5M to €10M in add-ons, while Bordeaux is expected to get €8M as add-on fees.

Kounde was close to joining Chelsea last summer, but Sevilla held on to their man, who then went on to play 32 La Liga games and 4 Europa League fixtures.

Meanwhile, Barcelona are still chasing the Chelsea duo of Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta. The Chelsea skipper has been in discussion with Barcelona, but the club manager Thomas Tuchel has said they are not ready to sell.

Barcelona are still trying as much as possible to sell Frenkie De Jong to Manchester United, but the Dutch midfielder wants to stay in Spain.

Barcelona have agreed to a deal worth an initial £63m with a further £8m in add-ons with Manchester United, but wage issues are dragging the deal.

Manchester United Erik Ten Hag, who managed De Jong at Ajax, is keen to be reunited with the player.

De Jong played 32 La Liga games for Barcelona last season, including six UEFA Champions League games and six Europa League matches.

Meanwhile, Barcelona followed their 1-0 win over Real Madrid with a 2-2 draw with Juventus both in their preseason tour of the US.

Their next fixture will be against New York Red Bull and Mexican team UNAM Pumas before the start of the La Liga.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu