‘A big proposal’: Chelsea actually tried to sign £45m defender instead of Kounde – Romano

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Fabrizio Romano has claimed Chelsea were actually trying to sign Nathan Ake this week instead of Jules Kounde.

Reports had claimed that Thomas Tuchel had been keen on signing the Manchester City man earlier this summer, in an attempt to replace the departed Antonio Rudiger in the left-centre-back role.

While interest was hot, the club struggled to agree a fee of £45m for the Dutchman, seemingly putting an end to that saga for the summer.

However, Romano has claimed the Blues returned to try and tempt the champions into a deal, especially with their own prior interest in signing Kounde.

He said on his YouTube channel: “During this week, Chelsea wanted to change the strategy. Among many calls for centre-backs, Chelsea wanted to try one strategy, to go again for Nathan Ake.

“One month ago, Chelsea were really keen on Ake. They agreed personal terms with the Dutch centre-back. During the negotiations with Man City, they told Chelsea board ‘stop for Nathan Ake’ as they had no intention of accepting their latest proposal.

“Chelsea wanted to try again. They were prepared to submit a big proposal for Nathan Ake. They were prepared to tempt Manchester City with a new proposal. Man City needed a replacement, and one of their names was Jules Kounde. But, everything was almost impossible to be completed because the answer of Kounde’s side was very clear. He only wanted Barcelona.”

This coincides with reports that Tuchel was never fully convinced on signing the Frenchman, as he had fears for how he would settle in the Premier League.

However, the Blues can do a lot better than picking up Ake now, with it looking like a panic buy with only a week left of the season.

Despite looking for a natural left-centre-back option, the newly signed Kalidou Koulibaly can provide cover there, with his pace a massive factor.

As well as that, not making another signing there could provide a route to the first team for Levi Colwill, who supporters are desperate isn’t sold this summer.