Barcelona Transfer News: Reports say that Barcelona is thinking about giving Memphis Depay to Sevilla as part of a deal to sign Jules Kounde this summer
Barcelona Transfer News:Â Gerard Romero, a Spanish journalist (h/t Express), says that Barcelona is considering using Memphis Depay as a makeweight to get Sevilla and France defender Jules Kounde this summer. The 23-year-old is also someone Chelsea wants to sign.
Over the past three years, Kounde has been one of the best centre backs in La Liga. Since he moved to Madrid from Bordeaux in 2019, the Frenchman has become an important part of Julen Lopetegui’s team.
His performances for Los Nervionenses have helped him win fans all over Europe. This summer, Chelsea and Barcelona are the teams that seem to want to sign Kounde the most.
Barcelona Transfer News: Will Barcelona be able to sign Jules Kounde?
It’s no secret that Chelsea’s defence needs to be changed. After all, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger left the team when their contracts ended. Even though they are trying hard to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus and are sure they will, Kounde is still a player they want to get.
But Chelsea will have to compete with Barcelona for Sevilla’s Kounde if they want to sign him. The Blaugrana also want to improve their defence before the 2022/23 season starts, just like Chelsea.
Samuel Umtiti, Clement Lenglet, and Oscar Mingueza are all likely to leave this summer. Gerard Pique is likely to play less next season due to his age and injury problems.
So, even though Barcelona got Christensen for free, they still need another good centre-back at Camp Nou. Kounde has become Xavi Hernandez’s top choice. But the giants in Catalonia haven’t been willing to meet Sevilla’s price for the defender yet. So the deal hasn’t moved forward.
There have been rumours that Barcelona would be willing to offer just €45 million for Kounde, which the Andalusians might not be willing to accept. So, Barcelona is looking into the possibility of a deal for the French international that includes both a player and cash.
Sergino Dest has been talked about as a possible part of the Blaugrana’s offer for Kounde. But now they are thinking about sending Memphis Depay to Sevilla to get the defender to leave.
What’s next for Barcelona?
Depay joined Barcelona just last summer, and his first season there was good. Even though injuries and the arrivals of Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January cut into his playing time, the 28-year-old finished last season as one of Barcelona’s top two scorers with 13 goals in all competitions.
But Barcelona is trying hard to sign Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha. They are getting close to a deal with Ousmane Dembele. So, Depay might not be as important on the team as he used to be. And since his contract is up next year, the Blaugrana are thinking about whether to offer him to Sevilla as part of the deal to bring in Kounde.
Depay, on the other hand, wants to stay in Barcelona and hopes to sign a new deal. But the Catalans seem to have different plans for his future. It will be interesting to see how this story develops in the coming days.
