Chelsea's Transfer Plans In Trouble As Barcelona Hold 'Advanced Talks' With Blues' $94M Target

Chelsea's top target, Jules Kounde of Sevilla, reportedly is planning to walk out on the Stamford Bridge side ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Kounde could prioritize a move to FC Barcelona instead in the ongoing 2022, while Sevilla are set to demand a transfer fee of around $94 million, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.

Despite trying so much, Chelsea failed to land Kounde, who has been one of boss Thomas Tuchel's top targets, last summer. Having lost both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers, Chelsea have been desperate to sign Kounde this summer.

However, their plans could take a hit as Barcelona are in advanced talks with Sevilla over Kounde's move to Camp Nou in the ongoing summer window, according to Catalunya Radio. The report added that Barcelona are planning to include a player to turn it into a player-plus-cash deal.

Already in a massive financial crisis, the Camp Nou side is ready to pay around $62 million and offer Sevilla their full-back Sergino Dest. The La Liga side also wanted to use Dest in a deal to land Robert Lewandowksi from Bayern Munich. Trincao and Clement Lenglet are also being considered.

Kounde will most likely line up alongside Christensen, with the Denmark national having agreed on a pre-contract with Barcelona. However, the deal is yet to be announced as the Catalans still need to figure out their finances.

It was earlier reported that Kounde is going to have surgery in the coming days following a long-term injury issue. During the Nation League games, France boss Didier Deschamps revealed Kounde had been struggling with an injury for several months. He said the player decided to postpone the surgery until France's latest Nation League rounds.