Jules Kounde 'furious' with Sevilla for blocking Chelsea move
By Chris Smith
Jules Kounde has been left 'furious' with Sevilla for blocking his move to Chelsea and is now ignoring calls from both Julen Lopetegui and Monchi, according to reports.
Kounde was thought to be Chelsea's number one target to replace outgoing centre-back Kurt Zouma, who eventually joined London rivals West Ham United for just shy of £30m.
Chelsea were said to be willing to pay £47m for Kounde's services. Yet, in a press conference, Monchi insisted the European Champions would have to meet the player's release clause for any deal to happen.
Kounde was left out of Sevilla's squad for the 1-1 draw away at Elche in La Liga last week, but no deal transpired.
According to reports in Spain (via the Daily Express), Kounde is now ignoring calls from Lopetegui and Monchi in anger at being denied a move.
Monchi himself recently revealed Kounde rejected a number of approaches - one of which was reportedly from Tottenham - but that Chelsea was a club he 'liked'. Even so, the Blues ultimately fell short in negotiations.
“Most of [the approaches were] rejected by the player himself but there was a club that he liked, which was Chelsea," Monchi said.
"The first and only formal offer was last Wednesday, around five in the afternoon, with an amount that did not satisfy our desires and conditional on Chelsea selling a player.
“It was an important offer, considering the current world where there are so many hardships, but it did not meet our demands, conditions, or quantities.
"I spoke to the player’s agent some time ago because the more time that passed, the more difficult it would be for him to leave. We put as a deadline the 20th, and we extended that to the 25th.
"We responded with a counter-offer with a deadline of last Friday night (the 27th) and they have not responded. Since then there has been no contact. Chelsea’s formal offer, Sevilla’s formal response, but nothing else.”
Kounde is currently on international duty and was shown a red card for a nasty challenge on Sead Kolasinac shortly after half-time in France's 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old will miss Les Bleus' next World Cup qualifier away to Ukraine on Saturday.