Premier League giants Chelsea are hopeful of finalising a deal for Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde after the Frenchman indicated a desire to make a switch to Stamford Bridge.
The France international defender has established himself as one of the most promising defenders in Europe during his two years with Sevilla.
The 21-year-old defender has impressed for the Spaniards last campaign until they were knocked out of from the Champions League by Bundesliga giants, Dortmund.
Kounde’s now got a taste for UEFA Champions League and he watched on as the Blues lifted the title in May by beating Man City.
Thomas Tuchel is keen to increase the depth of his team and especially centre-back and centre-forward options and Gianluca Di Marzio claims that the West London club have now opened official talks with Sevilla over a possible transfer of Kounde.
Kounde is believed to have said ‘yes’ to Chelsea’s proposal, meaning the West London club need only to agree on a fee with the La Liga team.
Spanish giants, Sevilla, reportedly value Kounde at around £50m and the Blues could help to raise funds for the defender by offloading France international star, Kurt Zouma.
Tottenham are believed to also be interested in securing the services of the 26-year-old defender and Chelsea would accept bids of around £21m for his services.
Meanwhile, Chelsea started negotiations with PSG centre-back Presnel Kimpembe. Thomas Tuchel wants to strengthen the squad during this summer transfer window. However, clinching a deal for France international will be riddled with a gamut of obstacles.
Kimpembe has grown leaps and bounds since breaking into the Parisians first-team setup in 2014. Now one of the vice-captains at PSG, Presnel has turned into a pivotal figure for the Parisians, playing 180 games for the Ligue 1 giants.
At the same time, the 25-year-old defender has also established himself as a regular for Les Bleus side, with his stock continuously rising in the last couple of years. Suffice to say, his displays have been noticed by some of the biggest teams in Europe.
According to the report, Real Madrid have already been linked with the French centre-back, who has now emerged as the subject of interest from the Blues.
