Barcelona president Laporta tells a fan that Kounde will sign for Chelsea

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has claimed that Chelsea have won the race to sign central defender Jules Kounde from Sevilla.

The two clubs have been battling it out over the 23-year-old's signature this summer, having both tabled significant offers for the Frenchman in the last week.

However, the Catalan chief was spotted by a fan in Las Vegas when he was asked whether the club where close to signing the Frenchman - before Laporta claimed the Blues had got there first.

When asked by a Barcelona supporter whether the club were going to sign Kounde, which was captured by Relevo, Laporta replied: ‘No, he is going to sign for Chelsea.’

It's understood that Chelsea have a £55m deal in place for the France international, who travelled to Lagos in Portugal for their training camp after agreeing a five-year contract.

The LaLiga giants made a last ditch attempt to persuade Kounde to join them after they raised more funds with another rights sale on Thursday - but their league rivals have opted to sell to Chelsea.

Sevilla were inclined to accept the Blues' bid over that of Barcelona as it offers straight cash while Barca were proposing players such as Memphis Depay.

Chelsea are looking to bring in Kounde on a five-year deal as they aim to strengthen their central defensive options.

Thomas Tuchel is eager to bring in more centre-backs following the departures of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.

The Blues have already signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli and are holding discussions with Paris Saint-Germain over Presnel Kimpembe. Josko Gvardiol of RB Leipzig is also being considered.