Barcelona have urged Jules Kounde to hold out on completing his long-awaited transfer to Chelsea with the Catalan outfit hopeful of a deal to sign the French centre-back this summer.
Kounde is tipped to be on the verge of putting pen to paper on terms to sign for Chelsea and become Thomas Tuchel’s third recruit of the summer window after Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Sevilla defender, however, remains a top name on the shopping list at Camp Nou with Barcelona now trying to muscle in on Chelsea’s pursuit of the 23-year-old with a late-ditch attempt to convince the player to hold out on his expected transfer.
According to The Guardian, it is claimed that Kounde is open to joining either Chelsea or Barça with the Frenchman already having agreed upon personal terms on a five-year deal with the Stamford Bridge camp.
Tuchel is in the market for as many as three centre-backs with the Chelsea head coach hoping to bolster a depleted backline after parting ways with key first-team pairing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen earlier in the window.
