A little less than three days ago, Kalidou Koulibaly was officially introduced by Chelsea, who apparently plan to form this summer, many will agree, the strongest center-defender duo in the Premier League. There was talk that the Blues could pair the sturdy Senegalese with Paris Saint-Germain’s Presnel Kimpembe, but the Stamford Bridge executives are shooting even higher and a few days ago they set their sights on the man who was their biggest desire last summer – Jules Kounde. Chelsea have now offered Sevilla – at least according to the information by the Spanish Marca – 55 million euros (including bonuses) for the French international.The Blues offered similar money last August, but the Andalusians finally got something tangible to work with this summer: negotiate and raise the price. It’s no secret that the Spanish club wants at least 65 million for the stopper who is also the first desire of Barcelona. However, the Catalans have already invested a huge amount of money, over 100 million euros for Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, so they would first have to make a capital sale like Frankie De Jong, so that they could splash tens of millions of euros again. Mundo Deportivo wrote today about Kounde’s desire to wait for Barcelona, but considering how quickly Chelsea disarmed Napoli for Koulibaly, it seems that Barca do not have much time.Sevilla and Chelsea are already negotiating for Koundé. A proposal of €55M (bonuses included) is still insufficient, but the parties keep contacts open. A move from Barcelona is also awaited. #cfc #fcblive [@relevo] pic.twitter.com/ei119FdOfR— Football Talk (@Football_TaIk) July 18, 2022 By the same principle, the Blues could easily soften up Sevilla, and their fans are already drooling over the idea that next season their goal will be guarded by the tandem of Koulibaly – Kounde, and that the super-experienced professor of defensive sciences Thiago Silva will have their backs. Which other club of the big six of English football can boast of such defenders of such quality. It would be a proper London wall at the Stamford Bridge if Kounde really arrives.Liverpool have Virgil Van Dijk, while Ibrahima Konate, who was seen as Joel Matip’s successor, showed on several occasions last season that he is a ticking time bomb and that he can slip up when he shouldn’t. Man City’s defense is also great with Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, and support in the form of John Stones and Nathan Ake. Ake was wanted by Chelsea, but that scale of measuring quality objectively still weighs on the side of the French from Sevilla.Manchester United brought in Lisandro Martinez, but their captain is still the unreliable Maguire (to put it mildly) while Varane, who was slowed down by injuries last season, is still looking for himself at Old Trafford. Arsenal have decent stoppers in Gabriel and Ben White with the return of William Saliba, one of Ligue 1’s best central defenders last season. Tottenham have one stopper of top quality and that is Christian Romero, although Antonio Conte could strengthen the back line, which still includes Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez and the newly arrived Clemont Lenglet.##NAJAVA_MECA_6516879##On paper, the Cityzens’ defense is, by all qualitative measures, the closest to the projection of Chelsea’s with Kounde. That is why the new owner of the Blues, Todd Boehly, who since the departure of Marina Granovskaia does not shy away from negotiating the transfers of football players himself, is most likely to increase the offer for the guy who, with 25 million euros paid to Bordeaux three years ago, is the record purchase of Sevilla.Raheem Sterling was the first summer signing of Chelsea and was paid 56.2 million euros to Manchester City, followed by Koulibaly for 38 million euros fixed and 2 million through bonuses. Chelsea earned the only transfer money this summer by sending Romelu Lukaku on loan to Inter, who him 8 million for that pleasure.
