Chelsea want to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla before the deadline
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Chelsea target Jules Kounde will only leave Sevilla before Tuesday’s 11pm BST transfer deadline if his €80million (£68.7m) release clause is met, according to the sporting director of the Spanish club.
In a deadline day press conference, Monchi revealed Sevilla had rejected an offer from Chelsea for the centre-half on Wednesday last week and claimed they had not heard from the Blues since Friday.
Chelsea were hopeful of signing Kounde, 22, for a fee in the region of £43m but Monchi revealed their bid, while “decent”, was not acceptable to the LaLiga club.
He did, however, admit that Kounde could still leave the club before the deadline if a club agreed to trigger his €80m release clause, suggesting Sevilla are in no mood to negotiate.
Kounde sat out Sevilla’s draw at Elche on Saturday amid the speculation, and Monchi told reporters: “The only written, formal offer from Chelsea came last Wednesday, around 5pm.
“We weren’t satisfied with the offer, and it was linked to Chelsea selling a player. It was a decent fee but it didn’t meet our criteria.
“We haven’t spoken with Chelsea since Friday night. We all decided that it was best Jules didn’t travel to Elche. It’s normal for players to be affected by news of any kind. Last year he had the interest from City and now Chelsea this year.
“Kounde’s clause never went up to €90m. It has always been €80m.”
Chelsea sold Kurt Zouma to West Ham over the weekend for £29.8m and had planned to replace him with Kounde.
