Barcelona boss Xavi admits he had talks with Chelsea target Jules Kounde over his future at Camp Nou amid fresh links with the Stamford Bridge camp.
The Blues had earmarked the then Sevilla centre-back Kounde as a top transfer target last summer only to lose out on his signature to Barcelona who came calling at the last minute for the highly rated Frenchman.
Recent reports have suggested that Chelsea are keen to revive their long-standing interest in Kounde with the defender said to be unhappy over being played in the right-back role by Xavi this season.
According to The Daily Mirror, Manchester United and Manchester City are also in the mix for the former Sevilla man who put pen to paper on a five-year deal with Barcelona last year in a €55million transfer.
However, the Barca head coach played down talk of Kounde leaving the club in the upcoming summer transfer window with Xavi insisting that their meeting had been successful, which hints that the player might be staying put in Spain.
“I spoke to him, yes, we were happy and everything was clear. I don’t see any problems. We both came out of the meeting happy.”
