Sevilla defender Jules Kounde has revealed that his failed move to Chelsea in the summer affected him in the aftermath.
Kounde, 23, was heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, however the Blues never activated his release clause of roughly £68million.
Instead, they were reported to have made an offer of £50million, which was turned down by the La Liga club late in the window.
The Blues did not add another defender to their squad in the summer come the end of the transfer window and they now have the challenge of juggling expiring contracts at the end of the season.
Four centre-backs are free to leave Thomas Tuchel’s side, with their current deals running out.
Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva and Andreas Christensen are all out-of-contract in the summer and all four are able to negotiate terms with a club abroad in January.
This may force the Blues back into the winter market to look for options, but for the time being Tuchel has made use of academy graduate Trevoh Chalobah at the back.
Speaking to French outlet TF1, Kounde has revealed the impact of the Chelsea move that never was in the summer: “Did it affect me? Yes, a little bit, but now I’ve dealt with it.”
The centre-back is currently on international duty with France, where he started in a back three for Les Bleus in their 8-0 drubbing of Kazakhstan.
He continues to be linked with a move away from Sevilla but time will tell if he makes the leap to Chelsea, or if he views a move elsewhere.
