Chelsea not giving up on Jules Koundé despite added ‘negotiating strength’ for Sevilla after Diego Carlos sale — reports

Over the past three years, Diego Carlos and Jules Koundé have formed an excellent partnership in defense for Sevilla FC, helping the team to three consecutive fourth place finishes in La Liga as well as the 2020 Europa League crown, where they beat Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan, 3-2 in the final.

That success has also resulted in plenty of transfer interest, including of course from Chelsea for Koundé. We were supposedly all but agreed last summer for his signature before the situation shifted not in our favor, and while the 23-year-old is still expected to be one of our primary targets this summer, the situation has shifted yet again, and once again not in our favor.

As confirmed yesterday, Aston Villa have agreed a €30m deal for Diego Carlos, covering most of the €40m deficit in Sevilla’s budget, and, as per local reports, “adding negotiating strength” in any upcoming talks regarding Koundé, who does have two years left on his contract still. So with a deal collapsing at €50-55m last year, we can probably expect Sevilla to hold fast to something closer to Koundé’s €80m release clause.

For now however, we remain undeterred, as per the Transfer Oracle.