Manchester City prepared to shell out €80 million for 23-year-old Chelsea, Real Madrid target

Manchester City are reportedly ready to shell out a sum of €80 million to sign Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, who is a target for Chelsea and Real Madrid.

According to a report from El Nacional, Manchester City have entered the race to sign Chelsea and Real Madrid transfer target Jules Kounde and are willing to fork out a massive fee of €80 million to secure his services.

Kounde has been with Sevilla since 2019 and has quickly established himself as one of the most sought-after young defenders in Europe. The 23-year-old played a key role in Los Nervionenses UEFA Europa League triumph in 2019/20 and has been pivotal in their surge up the table in La Liga over the past couple of years.

The defender was also part of the France squad that won the UEFA Nations League in 2021 and has attracted a lot of interest from elite clubs across Europe as a result. Chelsea were intent on signing Kounde last summer, but a move failed to materialise as Sevilla increased their transfer fee demands late in the window.

However, the Blues have continued to hold an interest in the Frenchman as they are looking at a defensive overhaul in the summer. Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta are all in the final six months of their contracts with Chelsea and are courting plenty of interest ahead of the summer. So, Thomas Tuchel will need to bring in at least one new centre-half, with Kounde being a viable target.

As for Real Madrid, they too have been long-term admirers of the 23-year-old and are looking at him to bolster their backline. Having lost Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos last year, Los Blancos brought in just David Alaba to reinforce their defence. While he and Eder Militao have been top-notch, there is not much quality behind them, with Nacho getting old and Jesus Vallejo not favoured, making Kounde a key target.

However, they will now have to face competition from Manchester City, who have made their interest known in the Sevilla ace. The report claims that the Premier League champions had made an attempt to sign him in 2020 itself, but their €60 million offer was shot down by the La Liga giants, due to which they ended up signing Ruben Dias.

However, the Cityzens have now renewed their interest in Kounde amid doubts over the future of Nathan Ake. At the same time, John Stones could also be sacrificed after having fallen down the pecking order again. The report claims that Pep Guardiola’s side are willing to shell out a massive sum of €80 million for the Sevilla defender, which would trigger his release clause.

So, Chelsea and Real Madrid will have their task cut out if they wish to land the 23-year-old from Sevilla in the summer as they will have to compete with the champions of England.