Barcelona face financial roadblock in pursuit of French defender | OneFootball

Earlier today it was reported that Sevilla are open to hearing Barcelona’s player plus cash deal offer to sign Jules Kounde since they had an active interest in signing Sergino Dest, one of the players Barça were willing to offer.

However, Diario SPORT has put out a recent update refuting such reports. It appears Sevilla are in desperate need of an injection of cash as they have a hole in their budget thanks to early knockouts from the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

They are in need of selling one of their star players and Kounde is the likely candidate. But the club won’t consider an exchange deal, even though they do hold interest in Dest or even Clement Lenglet.

Dest was considered as a possible replacement for the ageing Jesus Navas while Lenglet is still valued highly at the club despite his rapid fall from grace over the past year or so.

But Sevilla are banking out on a cash deal for Kounde, with Fabrizio Romano recently speculating a figure of around €80 million, which would be enough to convince Los Nervionenses.

This could serve as a major blow for Barcelona as they are not in a position to fork out such a fortune on an individual. It is primarily the reason why the club are targeting free agents this summer, having already bagged Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie.

Xavi, though, remains keen on signing an additional central defender. And while the Kounde deal might be off, the Barcelona coach had identified another top target in the form of Kalidou Koulibaly.

The Senegalese international could be a far more realistic option for Barcelona as his contract with Napoli expires in 2023, meaning the defender could be available on a cut-price deal this summer.