Chelsea will not compete with Man U for €80m versatile defender | OneFootball

Chelsea and Jules Kounde have always have had a strange connection.

He seemed really close to joining the Blues from Sevilla when Thomas Tuchel was in charge, only to pick Barcelona at the last moment. He had a very tough start to life there, but over time has adapted his game and become a really effective right back for them. He’s now a key player in the team pushing to win the title.

Last week, we saw outlandish rumours that we were preparing to bid €100m to bring him to Stamford Bridge this summer to be a defensive mainstay for a team which desperately needs one.

Today, CaughtOffside have thrown Manchester United’s name into the mix, with the price now being reported at €80m. The idea is that Kounde, now he’s experienced as a right back or centre back, would be ideal as one of the wide central defenders in Ruben Amorim’s back 3.

At Chelsea, he would presumably be a right back who inverts centrally, as we’ve seen our full backs on both sides do at various times under Enzo Maresca this season.

Price is everything as Chelsea hunt for elite option

Dean Huijsen in action for Bournemouth against Fulham (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

Any €100m bid can ruled out straight away of course. Chelsea have shown they’re willing to pay that much for a player, but only when they’re really young and preferably with some Premier League pedigree. Even an €80m bid seems out of reach – our current model could only allow for that if Kounde was really young, and at 26 he would be one of the oldest players signed by our sporting directors.

Still, we clearly have a long term fascination with him, so we’re interested to see where this goes next. Chelsea without doubt need an elite defender – but someone like 19 year old Dean Huijsen for €60m could prove a lot more tempting than Kounde at €80m.