Jules Koundé wasn’t travelling with Sevilla to Portugal for the club’s second pre-season training camp on Thursday and then he was.
Koundé was not part of the original 31-man Sevilla squad that travelled to Lagos, Portugal, on Thursday, but finally appeared with the team on Thursday evening.
Chelsea and Barcelona are both interested in the French defender but this is far from over, according to Seville-based outlet Estadio Deportivo.
As Estadio Deportivo reported on Wednesday night, reliable sources assured that negotiations had only just begun and were not expected to be completed before Thursday.
Not wanting to train alone, Koundé has asked to travel to Portugal until his departure from Sevilla is resolved, aware that it will be more than a matter of hours.
The fee for the defender will be between €55m and €64.7m, depending on various variables, with Sevilla and Chelsea yet to agree on the terms of the deal.
There is still a long way to go and none of the parties are ruling out a last-minute bid from Barcelona, with Xavi Hernández pushing his own directors and trying to convince the 23-year-old.
According to the Barcelona daily Sport, Xavi has personally called Koundé to tell him that he is counting on him as an essential part of the project.
Xavi, according to the same newspaper, has already used this same technique with Polish striker Robert Lewandowski and has asked the Frenchman to hold off on giving Chelsea the green light until the club can seriously pursue his signing.
At the time of writing, there has not been an offer from Barcelona for the former Bordeaux man.
GSFN
