Chelsea are said to be ‘confident’ of landing Jules Kounde in a £43m deal from Sevilla, with West Ham still the ‘likeliest’ destination for Kurt Zouma.
The European champions are pursuing a deal for Jules Kounde before the transfer window’s deadline next week and are in ‘advanced talks’ with Sevilla over a deal for the defender, though a move hinges on the departure of a senior centre-back option.
Zouma has held talks with West Ham over a move to the London Stadium after falling out of favour under Thomas Tuchel, though the player’s wage demands have so far prevented a £30m move from progressing.
talkSPORT are reporting that West Ham remains the ‘likeliest’ destination for the France international however, as the two parties bid to reach a compromise and conclude a deal.
Zouma’s exit will free up both funds and space for Chelsea to secure the signing of Kounde, with the west Londoners reportedly ‘confident’ of agreeing a £43m deal with Sevilla.
That figure is some way short of Kounde’s £68m release clause and will take Chelsea’s spending to around £140m this summer, following the club record signing of Romelu Lukukau from Inter Milan.
Chelsea will have raised around £90m from sales should Zouma’s switch across the capital materialise, having sold the likes of Tammy Abraham (£34m), Fikayo Tomori (£25m) and Marc Guehi (£18m) for significant fees.
The Blues are also working on several further departures before the closure of the window with Ross Barkley, Danny Drinkwater and Tiémoué Bakayoko – set to return to AC Milan on loan – amongst those surplus to requirements.
