Tottenham may be enjoying their pre-season in South Korea, but it doesn't stop players across the world being linked with move to N17. One of these players is Jules Kounde, who Spurs have reportedly joined the transfer race for.
Last season, the defender made 32 La Liga appearances for Sevilla, making three goal contributions and also featured five times in the Champions League. The 23-year-old has been at Sevilla since 2019, but has earnt a lot of attraction in recent transfer windows, in particular with Chelsea.
Interest from Thomas Tuchel's side seems to have dampened down slightly this summer, with others on their radar. There has also been interest from Barcelona but with their financial issues, this may not become a reality.
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There is no denying Kounde's quality and his versatility, making appearances as both centre-back and right-back last season. This has earned him plenty of praise, which his former teammate Diego Carlos pointed out last year.
"He has quality and he can play for great European clubs. He is a young player who can still improve over time, he has got great qualities, he is very strong and I am sure he can play for a big club as a great defender," the now Aston Villa player admitted.
"To have a strong defence, we also need all the other players to help us and we can help them to attack, so Kounde really looks to attack too and like all the other midfielders, we all help each other and we are a good team in attack and defence."
Carlos made this prediction of Kounde being able to play for great European clubs last year and the Brazilian has now made the move to the Premier League, so would his former teammate follow? The 23-year-old has been linked with a move to N17 before, which Kevin Campbell didn't think would materialise, due to the managerial situation last summer.
"Kounde is a top, top player and it looks like he could be on his way out of Sevilla. I cannot see Spurs getting him though, to be honest with you," he told Football Insider. "The way the manager situation has been handled there, I cannot imagine him wanting to join. It just doesn’t make any sense. I’m sure some Champions League clubs will be interested in signing him as well."
However, a year later and everything has changed. Not only do Tottenham now have a world-class manager, in the form of Antonio Conte, they also have Champions League football to look forward to next season.
In 2020, the French international made some positive claims, which could be a boost, should he make the move to Spurs. "As long as I play some matches consecutively I have more confidence, but when there have been difficult moments I never lost confidence," he explained.
"If you don't have confidence in yourself it's very difficult, I was playing well before the break and I feel good now, I'm very keen to return to competitive action. I'm a person who listens a lot and I take on board any advice they give me, because we're a group and everyone has their own importance within their age".
"We're not worrying about the table, although our aim is always clear, it's being in the Champions League. We're third and we're going to defend this position to the end to finish in those places," Kounde added.
The desire to play in the top European competition would be fulfilled at Tottenham and Kounde's clear ambition and drive is something that would be welcomed by Conte. However, football.london understands there is no truth in the links with the French international and a move would've raised the question of, where would the defender fit in.
There is no doubt that the 23-year-old would be a good option for the Italian, most likely fitting on the right-hand side of defence. However, with the start that Cristian Romero has had in that role at Spurs, it is likely that Kounde would've found himself as second choice, especially to begin with.
The Frenchman is valued at around £65million and to bring someone in at that price who isn't a guaranteed starter, perhaps wouldn't have been the best way of spending money - although they have done similarly with Richarlison. Conte does have the likes of Davinson Sanchez and Japhet Tangana who can back Romero up as a right-sided centre-back.
Even if the 52-year-old does want upgrades in those positions, spending more than £60million may have be a bit extreme. Spurs have just got Clement Lenglet in on loan and Ivan Perisic on a free deal, as new additions to their defence and that could be more of the route to go down, if a right-sided centre-back is wanted.
Only time will tell what Conte does want and how Tottenham do decide to spend their money. There is no denying Kounde's quality but there would've been questions asked on the price and his place in the current Spurs squad, if he did make the move.
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