Chelsea could be set to miss out on Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, according to reports from Spain.
The Blues have identified the 22-year-old as their main defensive target before tonight's 11pm deadline, but a move to west London appears to be unlikely because of Sevilla recently increasing their valuation of the France defender to around £60million.
Now, according to Spanish outlet Onda Cero, via the Express, Real Madrid could be about to hand Chelsea a blow by jumping in to make a move for Kounde before the transfer deadline.
With Los Blancos losing both Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos to Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively, this summer, Carlo Ancelotti is understood to be determined to strengthen his backline.
Kounde, who massively impressed for Sevilla last season, has been linked with a move to Real Madrid before, but Chelsea seemed to be the more likely destination for the Frenchman.
However, if Real Madrid did make a move for Kounde before 11pm hits, then the France star could be persuaded to move to the Spanish capital.
Sevilla director Monchi recently hit out at Chelsea for their attempts to sign the La Liga club's star defender.
“There are possibilities that he could leave between now and 00.00, the same as his teammates have because of his clause,” Orgullo de Nervion report him saying.
“Yes, there has been interest from a club that the player liked, which was Chelsea.
“The first formal offer we received was on Wednesday, with an amount that did not satisfy our requirements and conditional on Chelsea selling a player.
“We responded with a counter-offer that had an expiry date, which was Friday. Since Friday, until now, there has been no contact whatsoever with Chelsea.
“To the first offer for Koundé, we answered with an idea of our own.
"Everyone looks after their own interests, and the club has respected one hundred per cent when there has been interest from other teams, and the player didn’t think it was convenient.
“Koundé’s clause has never been 90 million euros, but 80 million euros.”
