Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde is ‘expected’ to join Chelsea this summer in the first addition of what could be busy summer following the club takeover.
Todd Boehly is expected to become the new owner of the Blues in the coming days, which will finally put to bed any fears of transfer bans this summer. And, Kounde is thought to be the first planned signing of the new era, with the Sevilla man having been chased for over a year by the club.
Kounde nearly joined Chelsea last summer, only for negotiations to fall through with Chelsea unwilling to meet the Frenchman’s release clause. This summer, however, is a different matter, and Thomas Tuchel’s side are in desperate need of defensive additions.
Abdessamad Ezzalzouli of FC Barcelona, Jules Koundé of Sevilla FC during the La Liga Santander match between Sevilla v FC Barcelona at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on December 21, 2021 in Sevilla Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images).
Both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are leaving the club for free, leaving a complete dearth of top-quality centre-backs in west London, and two are expected to arrive.
Beyond Kounde, the Blues are also on the lookout for a left-centre back, and are thought to hold an interest in Pau Torres, Andrea Bastoni and Josko Gvardiol. The latter is likely off the table, having already openly claimed he will be at RB Leipzig next season, while Torres and Bastoni are also both being looked at by London rivals Tottenham as well as Manchester United.
Busy summer ahead
A busy summer is sure to be in store for Chelsea, with several forward options set to depart. The futures of Marcos Alsonso, Cesar Azpilicueta and Jorginho also remain in the air.
Chelsea are now open to sell Hakim Ziyech in case they will receive an important proposal. ? #CFC
Marcos Alonso will leave with Barça still leading the race – talks soon with N’Golo Kanté to discuss his contract situation, Jorginho’s waiting too.
More: https://t.co/MXeh7XeKfs pic.twitter.com/K8OuO8zzkL
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 24, 2022
As per the Telegraph, ‘selling one or all of Werner, Ziyech and Pulisic could see Chelsea consider a move for Raheem Sterling’ while ‘Christian Pulisic could consider his future if Chelsea receive a bid for the American.’
Now able to do transfer business, it is set to be a very long window for the Blues.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 38 | 73 | 93 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 38 | 68 | 92 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 38 | 43 | 74 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 29 | 71 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 38 | 13 | 69 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 38 | 0 | 58 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 38 | 9 | 56 |
| 8 | Leicester City | 38 | 3 | 52 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 38 | -2 | 51 |
| 10 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 38 | -5 | 51 |
| 11 | Newcastle United | 38 | -18 | 49 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 4 | 48 |
| 13 | Brentford FC | 38 | -8 | 46 |
| 14 | Aston Villa | 38 | -2 | 45 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 38 | -24 | 40 |
| 16 | Everton FC | 38 | -23 | 39 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 38 | -37 | 38 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 38 | -19 | 35 |
| 19 | Watford FC | 38 | -43 | 23 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 38 | -61 | 22 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 23 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 23 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 18 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 16 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 15 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 15 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 14 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 13 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 12 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 12 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 12 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 11 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 11 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 11 |
| Pukki, Teemu | Norwich City | 11 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 11 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa | 11 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 11 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 10 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 11 |
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 11 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 10 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 10 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bednarek, Jan | Southampton FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 10 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 9 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 9 |
| Rudiger, Antonio | Chelsea FC | 0 | 9 |
| Mctominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 0 | 8 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 7 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 11 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 10 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 10 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 10 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 9 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 9 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 9 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 9 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 8 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 8 |
| Kulusevski, Dejan | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 7 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |
