Chelsea in regular contact with agent of Barcelona’s Copa del Rey hero

Barcelona may need to sell this summer in order to sign their desired targets, and if so, it could be good news for Chelsea, who are said to be very interested in signing one of the recently-crowned Copa del Rey winners’ star players.

Barcelona won the competition for the 32nd time on Saturday after defeating Real Madrid 3-2 after extra time. It was Jules Kounde that scored the winning goal for the Catalans in the 116th minute, and in the process, he increased his standing ever further among the club’s directors and supporters.

But amidst all of this, there is a chance that Kounde leaves Barcelona, three years after he joined from La Liga rivals Sevilla. That is because Chelsea continue to lurk in the background ahead of possibly making a move for the France international.

As reported by TBR Football (via Barca News Network), Chelsea are said to have been in regular contact with Kounde’s representatives over the last couple of years. The Premier League side tried to sign him in the summer of 2022 when he opted for Barcelona, and since then, their interest has hardly waned.

Chelsea are not the only Premier League club that would consider signing Kounde, with Champions League semi-finalists Arsenal also keen on him. It has been reported that they would be willing to spend €65m to bring him to North London, and it would be no surprise to see Chelsea take a similar stance.

Barcelona may need to sell, but given that they already want to sign a new right-back to compete with Kounde next season, it would be a very big surprise if they let him go. He has undoubtedly been one of the stars of Hansi Flick’s side during the 2024-25 campaign, so there is no need to consider moving him on anytime soon.