Chelsea's need for defenders is well known. With four of their senior defenders being linked with moves away from Stamford Bridge, the Premier League giants are keen on strengthening their back four, with one man in particular being target no.1 for Abramovich's side.
That player is none other than Jules Kounde, the highly-rated French center-back who plies his trade at Sevilla. Tuchel's side came close to landing the Spanish top-flight ace during the summer but saw the move breakdown in the final days. As a result, Chelsea are expected to reignite their interest this summer.
However, the London giants could face a new roadblock and that comes in the form of interest from a fellow Premier League heavyweight. According to El Nacional (as per Team Talk), that club is Liverpool, with the Reds reportedly being ready to trigger his Sevilla release clause worth £75M (roughly around $102M).
The report goes a step further, claiming that the Merseyside giant want the Frenchman this month, with the player himself accepting a January move to Anfield. Given that Sevilla are in the midst of a title race, sitting only five points behind Real Madrid in second, the Spanish club will not be keen on seeing their player depart. However, if true, Liverpool triggering his release clause would render Lopetegui's side helpless.
However, this begs the question: why would the Reds splash big on another center-back given that Konate only joined up with the likes of Van Dijk, Matip, and Gomez over the summer? The report claims Klopp's side simply wish to avoid missing out on Kounde given the interest from Chelsea and Real Madrid. Regardless, this claim must be taken with a pinch of salt in terms of its reliability.
Nonetheless, Chelsea should keep a close eye on this space. With Silva, Rudiger, and Christensen all being out of contract this summer. While all three stand a chance of staying at the Bridge, they have been linked with moves away regardless, with Rudiger in particular being eyed by PSG and Real Madrid.
