Sevilla have left Jules Kounde out of their pre-season squad for an upcoming friendly against Angers amid their transfer agreement with Chelsea.
The Blues are thought to be close to landing their third signing of the summer, with Kounde set to join after the arrivals of Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly.
Kounde has been a long-term target for the club and was close to making a move to Stamford Bridge last season, but he stayed in Seville and went on to make 44 appearances in all competitions last season.
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However, it now appears that such a move is about to take place, despite there also being heavy interest from Barcelona over a transfer.
The Frenchman will be Chelsea’s second defensive addition of the window, therefore securing their replacements for Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen who both departed this summer.
According to Ryan Taylor, Kounde has not been included in Sevilla’s squad for their forthcoming pre-season friendly against Angers.
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The news comes after reports revealed that the La Liga side have accepted a £55 million offer from Chelsea for the centre-back.
It is also thought that they want a deal to be completed this week, with today (Thursday 21 July) being the date in which they travel to Portugal for the friendly.
Kounde is ‘very open’ to joining Chelsea this summer having been a priority for them for some time, and he is expected to know his new club by the end of the week.
He is now set to be the Blues’ second defensive signing of the summer, following in the steps of Koulibaly who completed his switch from Napoli last week.
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The 31-year-old, who plays for Senegal with Edouard Mendy and was a teammate with Jorginho at their former side, made a promise to Chelsea fans ahead of his debut campaign.
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He said: “I want to thank them. Ever since my first day in London people were taking pictures with me, excited to see me in London. This is a good feeling for me.
“I like the respect, I like the love. When I see this I want to give them back on the pitch.
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“The only thing I can tell them is that on the pitch I will give 200% for them, for the staff, for everybody working in the club.
"On the pitch everything will go well. I want to thank them for the big welcome and I am looking forward to seeing them at Stamford Bridge.”
Chelsea lost their second game of pre-season on penalties against Charlotte FC, despite Christian Pulisic giving them the lead in the first half.
They will now travel to Orlando to face Arsenal in the final game of their tour across the United States.
Topics: Chelsea, Jules Kounde, Chelsea Transfer News & Rumours
Robert Calcutt