The France defender was close to moving to Stamford Bridge last year, only for his club to veto the transfer
Sevilla general manager Jose Maria Cruz de Andres admits that the club will struggle to hold on to Chelsea transfer target Jules Kounde this summer.
The Liga side turned down an offer from the Blues to take the defender to Stamford Bridge in 2021.
But after another impressive year in Spain, it appears that Kounde is set for a move away in the near future.
“The case with Jules Kounde is very similar to the case of Diego Carlos. Not in the timing because we received offers for Jules Kounde in the last two seasons but always in the summer market,” Cruz de Andres explained to Sport Witness.
“We have rejected because we thought that this player can improve his performances. It was better to wait because the market at the time was depressing. We thought that waiting a while would [help us] obtain more money.
“Again, the player, I am sure, respects Sevilla FC. He is happy with us. In the case of Kounde, it is not a matter of money. It’s a matter of him wanting to play in a more competitive team than Sevilla FC.”
“It’s the same case we had some years ago with [Clément] Lenglet. He was very happy, but he thought after playing some years at Sevilla FC, he was prepared to go to FC Barcelona.
“The first time we received an offer for him was a season before he was transferred. He [Lenglet] and his father told us they didn’t to leave Sevilla then because they preferred to stay here and play a lot of matches.”