It is no secret that talented French defender Jules Kounde was extremely close to signing for Chelsea from Sevilla this summer as he had also been previously linked with them last year. However, eventually, Barcelona won the race for Kounde, adding him to the list of exciting talents that they have added to their roster after a fruitful summer transfer window.

During the international break and while on duty for the French national team, the 23-year-old spoke to French outlet L’Equipe about a number of topics including choosing Barcelona over Chelsea and how speaking with manager Xavi ended up influencing his decision strongly.

12 months on from their failure to sign the player last summer, Kounde was once again in the thick of things when it came to Chelsea’s interest in adding reinforcements at the back. This time around, after securing the signing of Kalidou Koulibaly and losing the race for Matthijs de Ligt where Bayern Munich were quick to react, Chelsea had succeeded in landing a verbal agreement with Kounde and his camp on a move to the Stamford Bridge.

Although it seemed like only a matter of time before he would wear the famous Blues shirt, Barcelona swooped in and secured his signing for and estimated £41.85 million. He has already become fundamental for Barcelona and his versatility has also seen the Catalan club deploying him as a right-back in some of the big games this season, most notably against his former club Sevilla and against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

When asked about the events leading upto his move to the Camp Nou, Kounde confirmed that he had been talking to representatives from Chelsea. However, a call from Barcelona head coach Xavi completely changed his mind and he became convinced to wear the famous Blaugrana shirt and remain in Spain.
“I was close to signing for Chelsea this summer. They were talking to me and Barcelona were interested too, but there were always doubts from them. The moment that changed the situation was the phone call from Xavi, I did not hesitate from there,” said Kounde.

When asked whether he had received a phone call from then Cheslea manager Thomas Tuchel as well, Kounde said that he had but that he preferred Xavi’s pitch and his sporting project and plans to the German who has since been sacked by Chelsea.

Chelsea later went on to sign Wesley Fofana for an estimated eye-watering sum of £70 million later in the transfer window to fill the void at the back left by the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.