Manchester City enquire about Barcelona star amid contract negotiations

Barcelona have thus far done a decent job of retaining most of their stars since the global pandemic, despite a significant financial crisis that has hampered their plans for the past five years. The only major departures that the club were not open to, albeit hugely important, were Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele. Manchester City are seeking to change that.

Director of Football Deco has placed a special emphasis on retaining the club’s major stars before seeking to bring in major signings, as evidenced by a flurry of contract renewals for the likes of Pedri, Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Lamine Yamal amongst others. The next to follow would in theory be Jules Kounde, who is out of contract in the summer of 2027.

City are interested in the French defender though, who excelled in central defence at Sevilla and over the last three seasons has performed well at right-back for the Blaugrana. French journalist Fabrice Hawkins reports that Manchester City are one of the two top clubs that have made enquiries about his compatriot.

Barcelona have been trying to negotiate a new deal with Kounde for several weeks, after the first reports of negotiations emerged in February this year, and Hawkins explains that both Kounde and Barcelona are hopeful of a deal, with the latter considering him the best in the world at his position.

Barcelona will want to wrap up a new deal before next summer, when they might be forced to slash his asking price. There have been a number of links to both Chelsea and Arsenal in the Premier League over recent months, with the former reportedly in regular contact with his agent. The Blues also tried to sign Kounde when he left Sevilla in 2021. It would be no surprise if his representation was in contact with Premier League sides to test the market and see what kind of salary Kounde could be offered elsewhere.