Chelsea have been sent a timely reminder why they still remain favourites over Barcelona for the signing of Sevilla star Jules Kounde amid claims that he has rejected a move to the Blues.
The 23-year-old's future has been a transfer story that dates back to last summer when Chelsea tried to construct a deal but a last minute move of goalposts from Sevilla director Monchi meant that a £42million transfer was not completed. Fast forward to now and despite initial thinking from new owner Todd Boehly and Thomas Tuchel to ditch Marina Granovskaia's long-term plans, set-backs in a reported Matthijs de Ligt pursuit meant that the new regime turned back to Kounde.
However, this time around, dithering has allowed Barcelona time to convince the Frenchman that his long-term future would be better served in Spain rather than England. Such to a point that reports in Spanish claim the player has rejected Chelsea's proposal in favour of the Catalan giants with a move to Barca described as a 'matter of time.'
