Barcelona are reported to be open to selling Jules Kounde should offers approach the club\u2019s valuation, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City credited with interest by Mundo Deportivo. The 27-year-old has been linked to the three Premier League sides and City\u2019s pursuit is described as particularly well established.<\/p>\n
Deco, Barcelona\u2019s sporting director, revealed last summer that Pep Guardiola\u2019s side \u201casked us if Kounde was available,\u201d and the club\u2019s response at that time was simple: \u201cNo.\u201d The latest coverage suggests Barcelona\u2019s position may have shifted as they weigh financial priorities.<\/p>\n
When fit, Kounde is a regular under Hansi Flick. The quick fullback started 25 of La Liga\u2019s first 26 matches this season before a muscular injury forced him to miss the entirety of March. Mundo Deportivo report that Barcelona, in need of funds, would consider any bid in the region of $92.3 million (\u20ac80 million).<\/p>\n
Selling Kounde would not leave Flick without options. Eric Garc\u00eda has provided versatile cover across the backline, including at right back, while Masia graduate Xavi Espart earned his senior debut during Kounde\u2019s absence. Jo\u00e3o Cancelo\u2019s continued presence in Spain has also been mooted as a way to mitigate the loss of Kounde.<\/p>\n
Barcelona are widely expected to prioritise signings of a striker and a centre back this summer. Targets mentioned publicly are likely to command significant fees, with the acquisition of Juli\u00e1n Alvarez noted as an example of the cost involved. That context helps explain why a substantial offer for Kounde would be difficult for Barcelona to ignore.<\/p>\n
From the English perspective, Manchester City\u2019s search for a right back last summer was fruitless. Matheus Nunes has adapted from a midfield reputation\u2014having shrugged off Guardiola\u2019s barb about a lack of intelligence to play in midfield\u2014to flourish as an overlapping fullback this season, but City could still seek a more orthodox right back.<\/p>\n
Chelsea and Liverpool possess quality options at right back, but selection can be complicated. Reece James has rammed home his committment to the Blues with a recent contract extension only to then succumb to the sort of hamstring injury which has plagued so much of his career. Malo Gusto serves as a suitable deputy and is far less prone to fitness lapses.<\/p>\n
Whether any Premier League suitor will meet Barcelona\u2019s reported valuation remains to be seen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Barcelona may sell Jules Kounde if Chelsea, Liverpool or Man City match the club’s valuation. summer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1017,172,1163],"tags":[1393,1560],"class_list":["post-10425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-barcelona","category-epl","category-transfers","tag-centre-back","tag-jules-kounde-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}