Earlier today, Toni Juanmarti made a huge claim, stating that Jules Kounde was open to leaving FC Barcelona in the summer and had given the OK for the club to listen to offers for him.
The report stated that the French international was not happy with being continued to be used as a right-back, even though he was promised to be played at centre-back when he arrived. While he has not explicitly asked to leave, the defender is said to be open to the possibility.
Building on his previous claims, Toni Juanmarti now reports that Barcelona value Kounde around €80 million.
He further claims that the versatile defender has a market in the Premier League, where clubs were interested in his services from his days at Sevilla.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich are also looking for a centre-back, but their manager at the moment, Thomas Tuchel, wanted to sign Kounde as a right-back last summer at Chelsea.
Kounde arrived at Barça last year in a deal worth €50 million, signing a five-year contract until 2027. The 24-year-old became a key player for Xavi in his debut season and has racked up a goal and six assists from 38 appearances in all competitions.
However, most of his appearances have come at right-back than his natural position at the heart of the defence.
It is due to two factors – the lack of a reliable option at right-back at Xavi’s disposal and the brilliant performances of Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen at centre-back.
With the Catalans also set to sign Inigo Martinez in the summer, questions remain over whether Kounde could find game-time in his preferred position, especially in the scenario that Barcelona do not bring in a new right-back.
With all scenarios now open, the newly-crowned La Liga champions are said to value their ace defender at €80 million. Whether any club from England or Bayern Munich would be willing to meet that price tag remains to be seen.
