Sevilla president Jose Castro admits Chelsea target Jules Kounde will be allowed to leave the La Liga club this summer if an "acceptable" offer is received for the France international, who underwent surgery on a minor pelvis injury yesterday (Tuesday) and is expected to return during pre-season.
Kounde has been the Blues' first-choice defensive target for almost a year – and an attempt to sign the 23-year-old was made last summer. However, a move for the centre-back was parked while Chelsea focused on bringing in Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan, and then postponed after Sevilla raised their asking price late into the window.
Chelsea retained their interest throughout the 2021/22 campaign and were expected to make an approach for Kounde prior to this summer's transfer window. Yet the sanctions placed upon Roman Abramovich scuppered the Blues' efforts and they were forced to wait until the takeover of the club by the Todd Boehly-led consortium was completed.
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Kounde spent the previous fortnight away with France on international duty and started their 1-0 defeat to Croatia on Monday evening. He didn't complete the full 90 minutes, however, as the defender picked up a knock that forced him off. And it was revealed after the game by Didier Deschamps that Kounde would be undergoing pre-planned surgery.
That took place in Bordeaux yesterday and Kounde is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks. As Castro confirmed in an interview with +Nervión. "There is no reason to worry or even be alarmed," he said. "He (Kounde) has put up with some niggles throughout the season and it isn't worrying us because a week after his teammates start, he will be fit."
Chelsea are confident they will secure the signing of Koude, but plenty of other sides have been linked with a move for the central defender, including Barcelona and Newcastle United. And when asked about the prospect of Kounde moving on this summer, Castro made his stance clear.
He said: "It's something that you (the media) all talk about, it is possible, but we don't know if he will be sold or not. This happened last year and he will only be sold if the offer is the one that the club deems enough and acceptable so that he can leave, as we have always done.
"The policy is clear, we have done it like this for many years, although in the last two years we have made an effort to reject incoming offers. The reality is that he is our player and we can only wait for him to recover and hope that he is back in Seville in the first week of July."
