Barcelona and Chelsea receive transfer boost as 23-year-old trains away from teammates ahead of potential departure

Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui's decision to excuse Jules Kounde from team training has boosted Barcelona and Chelsea's aspirations of signing the centre-back. Both teams are eager to strengthen their backline and have their sights set on the France international.

The Blues lost two of their key centre-backs, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, at the start of the month. Rudiger left the club to join Real Madrid while Christensen opted to join Barca, both as free agents.

Chelsea signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli and submitted a €55 million bid to sign Kounde from Sevilla. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims that the bid was rejected by the Andalusians and the Blues will soon come up with an improved offer.

He also claims that Xavi is also pushing for Kounde's signature and the Frenchman is also in contact with Barcelona.

football.london understands that the Frenchman did not train with the squad should boost both their hopes of signing the player. Generally, clubs tend to protect their assets ahead of a high-profile transfer, often excusing them from training sessions. The fact that Kounde missed Sevilla's training session could mean that a potential transfer is on the horizon.

The aforementioned report also believes that Barca are the underdogs in this chase and are racing against time to complete the transfer.

The 23-year-old, who is seen as one of the best defenders in La Liga, has been with Sevilla since 2019. Kounde has since featured in 133 matches for them across competitions, scoring nine goals and winning th2 UEFA Europa League in 2020.

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Chelsea in driving seat to sign Jules Kounde but the player prefers a move to Barcelona

As per reports, Kounde's preferred destination is Catalonia rather than London. Chelsea may be ahead in the race due to their financial edge over Barcelona, but the latter seemingly has an advantage in the ongoing transfer saga.

The 23-year-old has his heart set on a move to the Blaugrana. The club has even asked the defender to reject any advances from other clubs in a bid to sign only for the Catalonian giants.

However, Xavi's side are yet to make an offer for the player and Sevilla are growing impatient with them. Sporting director Monchi has told Kounde that they will focus all their efforts on sending the player to England rather than Spain if the Blaugrana don't act quickly.

If Barcelona do manage to sign Kounde, it will truly turn out to be an extremely productive window for the side. They have already signed the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, and extended the contract of winger Ousmane Dembele.