Sevilla director claims Jules Koundé situation ‘a lot of noise but no real offer’ from Chelsea

The Hot Days of Jules Koundé have become more like lukewarm days, at best. Chelsea’s supposed “acceleration” never quite arrived last week, and the situation appears to be pretty much the same as at the start: we’re interested in the 22-year-old center back, who’s probably interested in us as well, but Sevilla aren’t interested in anything less than their €70-80m asking price (without any makeweight).

Sevilla director of football Monchi confirmed as much in an interview with Diario de Sevilla, adding that everyone on their side is cool and calm, and willing to maintain the status quo if Chelsea’s offer never even arrives (let alone the two teams finding an agreement).

“Koundé is fine, he is calm, he arrived later for the European Championship, but he is already 100% involved with the team. If we had played in Birmingham he would have played. [His] physical condition is very good from what we saw last Sunday.”

Koundé has yet to play a single minute of preseason football, though he was due to play against Aston Villa before Sevilla pulled out of that friendly last week due to “reasons related to COVID-19”. Sevilla’s season starts this weekend and presumably Koundé will be taking full part.

“There is no specific offer for him, because there has not been one. A lot noise, but no real offer today. I don’t know what will happen.

“I do say that [Sevilla have] a business model that will not change. That is what has made lifting ten titles and playing twenty finals possible. When there is an important offer you have to accept it, because that will allow us to improve the team [but] if there is no such offer, he knows that he will continue to be a Sevilla player and he knows it.”

-Monchi; source: Diario de Sevilla via Google Translate

Tuchel’s supposedly pushing for this signing, but we have less than three weeks to do so if we are to get it done at reasonable financial terms (i.e. not panicking into exercising yet another €80m buyout clause). Time to move!