Chelsea will potentially be rueing Tottenham Hotspur’s most recent transaction with Sevilla as it may affect Jules Kounde’s situation.
According to AS, Sevilla would be even less inclined to sell on Kounde this summer following their trade-off with the Blues’ London rival.
The Spanish side are on the verge of selling Bryan Gil to Spurs for £21.6m (Guardian) and gaining Erik Lamela in return.
Because Gil rose through the club’s youth system, any money made will be pocketed as profit.
It also puts less stress on raising funds via the possible transfer of Kounde, who is under heavy investigation from across Europe.
Unsurprisingly, Chelsea have been linked to the young centre-back, as they look to bolster their defensive options.
AS propose the Blues, along with Real Madrid and Manchester United, are the Frenchman’s three main admirers.
His current reported value rests at £70m (La Colina da Nervion) and unless a bid of that size comes in, Sevilla won’t relinquish the defender’s services.
Other options Chelsea have explored are Bayern Munich’s Niklas Sule and Ben White from Brighton & Hove Albion.
However, the latter is close to sealing an expensive move to Arsenal.
How typical would it be for Chelsea to be foiled by two capital city enemies in the same window?
Interestingly, they might be struck twice by the Gunners, who are apparently now front runners to sign Tammy Abraham.