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Barcelona are set to make life difficult for Chelsea in their pursuit of Sevilla defender Jules Kounde. The Frenchman, on the back of two very successful seasons with the Andalusian club, is highly sought after in the market.
AS have revealed a list of as many as nine players that the Catalan club have the potential to sign in the summer, with the Sevilla man shortlisted as well.
Xav Hernandez is determined to rebuild and bolster Barcelona's squad to get them challenging for major silverware next season. This will see many out-of-favor faces pushed through the exit door at Camp Nou, with Clement Lenglet and Sergino Dest also included. The Spanish giants will use the two defenders as makeweights in their bid to sign Chelsea target Kounde.
The 23-year old is valued at €60 million, however Barcelona are not in a state to fork out that kind of a sum. Lenglet has been a peripheral figure under Xavi this season, having played little over 1100 minutes of football in 26 appearances across competitions.
Dest has found significantly more on-field action but he has been marred by injuries and the manager wishes to sell him this summer. Chelsea, however, with the backing of their new owners led by Todd Boehly, will have the capacity to churn out money in cash to get a deal done for Kounde and will fancy beating the Blaugrana.
The Blues were close to signing him last summer and tabled an offer worth £43million, however Sevilla director Monchi was not ready to go below his valuation of £68.7 million. With both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen set to depart on free transfer moves to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, Thomas Tuchel is desperately in need of reliable centre-back options.
Chelsea's Spanish veterans present on Barcelona's shopping list
The nine-man shopping list of the Bluagrana that AS have revealed also has Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta mentioned in it. The former is seen as a cover for Jordi Alba, who is the only recognized left back available to Xavi Hernandez right now. Alonso has apparently informed Chelsea about his desire to join the Catalans, with his contract set to expire in 2023.
Azpilicueta, on the other hand, is likely to become the starter at right-back whether Dest joins Sevilla as a part of the Kounde deal or not. The Barcelona boss admires the Chelsea captain for his leadership and athleticism. He agreed to a contract extension last summer and will now have to sort out his situation with the Blues.
