Barcelona is surprisingly full for the signature of Jules Koundé, reports Catalunya Radio† The Spanish superpower has reportedly entered the advanced stage of negotiations with Seville. An agreement for the 23-year-old centre-back could be concluded for an amount between 55 and 60 million euros. On top of that, Barca may be letting a player leave for Andalusia.
Koundé must lead the defense of Barcelona from next season. The French mandekker is seen as the successor of Gerard Piqué, from whom Xavi slowly wants to say goodbye. Koundé is also highly sought after by Chelsea, who came close to his arrival in the winter transfer window. Koundé has an escape clause of 90 million euros in his contract, but neither interested party will put that amount on the table. Barcelona are willing to trade a player for Koundé and are reportedly offering Sergiño Dest, Francisco Trincão or Clément Lenglet.
Three years ago, Sevilla paid 25 million euros for Koundé, who is the most expensive player in club history with his switch from Girondins Bordeaux. The rearguard player is now a fixed value in the French selection of national coach Didier Deschamps, who has now called on him eleven times. Koundé has played 133 times for Sevilla in the past three years and recently saw his regular defense partner Diego Carlos sold to Aston Villa.
Barcelona brings according to BILD simultaneously announced an increased offer of €32 million plus €5 million in bonuses for Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, the main target this summer. Barca are in the process of closing a deal with investment company CVC Capital Partners after many months of negotiations and expect a capital injection of up to €200 million, Eduard Romeu, financial man at the club, recently explained to Spanish media.
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