Sevilla seem to have accepted that the sale of Jules Kounde this summer is inevitable. The question remains of how much and to whom.
The two teams most closely linked with Kounde are Barcelona and Chelsea, although the former will have free up at least €60m according to Mundo Deportivo.
Meanwhile Sevilla Sporting Director Monchi is working out who should replace Kounde. Seemingly, the goal is to spend less than half of Kounde’s transfer fee on his replacement.
Two candidates are so far leading the race. Brazilian defender Joao Victor, 23, currently plays for Corinthians and Mundo Deportivo referenced a report from Globoesporte explaining that Sevilla are following him. They will face competition for him from Sporting CP, Benfica and Porto for Victor.
Equally, Benoit Badiashile of AS Monaco of is on Monchi’s shortlist. The main sticking point is that Les Monegasques would be seeking around €40m for him, whereas Sevilla hope to secure him for around €25m.
Another alternative, although perhaps more of a replacement for the already departed Diego Carlos, is Omar Alderete. The Paraguayan defender showed steel at Valencia and Los Che can make his loan deal permanent for €7.5m, but so far haven’t done so.
Sevillistas can likely rely on Monchi to get the decision right. Yet teams will now be wise to the fact that Sevilla will be receiving a payday for Kounde and as such, may demand a higher price for defenders.
