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9 months ago
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With Barcelona needing to make some important sales in the summer, they have decided to offload at least two centre-backs to generate revenue.
As it is, the Blaugrana have five central defenders in the squad in Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Inigo Martinez, and Pau Cubarsi. On top of that, Clement Lenglet and Eric Garcia will be returning from their loan spell.
Beyond that, the Catalans are also considering re-signing Chadi Riad from Real Betis by activating the buyback clause.
Lenglet and Garcia are bound to depart again, ideally on permanent transfers, but Barcelona might not stop at that as more income would be needed. As has been reported previously, one of Kounde or Christensen could end up being sacrificed.
Chelsea, Man United keen
Now, SPORT reports that Jules Kounde has no shortage of suitors with two giants from the Premier League, Chelsea and Manchester United, very interested in his services.
The 25-year-old has not performed consistently enough this season, although his displays have improved at right-back in recent weeks.
Chelsea, who had tried to sign Kounde before he joined Barcelona in 2022, are interested again and reportedly scouted him during a match last month.
Meanwhile, Manchester United are looking for defensive reinforcements in the summer amid the possibility that Raphael Varane could move on, with Kounde seemingly emerging as a replacement for his compatriot.
The former Sevilla defender, whose current market value stands at €60 million, might be open to offers as reported previously, which could make things a lot easier for Barcelona.
A lot of activity is expected at the club come summer and whether Kounde’s departure is one of the operation that takes place will be interesting to see.
