Home Chelsea Romano reveals €50m transfer is ‘main focus’ for Chelsea; still want to end ‘crazy story’
According to transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea is putting most of their focus into securing a deal for defender Presnel Kimpembe of Paris Saint-Germain.
Both Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger left the Blues this summer on free transfers, while Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli was brought in as one replacement.
According to reports from Monday, Chelsea has made a bid of £40 million (€47 million) for PSG center-back Kimpembe in an effort to finalize a deal.
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And according to Romano, Chelsea is willing to spend up to €50 million for the France international but would not match PSG’s €65 million asking price.
Chelsea is also interested in signing Sevilla center-back Jules Kounde, but Kimpembe is their “primary priority” for now as they search for two more center-backs.
“I think they both (Jules Kounde and Presnel Kimpembe) have possibilities to join Chelsea,” Romano remarked on the Wondergoal Podcast.
Chelsea wants to bring in three center backs. Then, of course, it depends on the budget in this case; they don’t want to spend extravagantly, but they do want to make wise investments. This explains why they have stopped talking about the players. They are extremely glad that they signed Koulibaly because, in my opinion, they did so because he is a wonderful player. He is occasionally undervalued. But for many, many years in Serie A, this man was the difference-maker. He is an excellent professional and player. This is a fantastic venture for Chelsea, in my opinion. It’s time to attack Kimpembe at this point. While we are talking, they are working on a proposal. Chelsea is therefore debating the official offer internally, although they intend to submit a proposal for Kimpembe. They require a left-footed center back, and Kimpembe might be one of the finest available choices. The current concentration is primarily on Kimpembe. It also depends on PSG because they are seeking about €65 million for Kimpembe. Chelsea will be prepared to pay around €50m. “So let’s see how it will be around the price tag for Kimpembe. At the moment, this is the situation between the clubs.”
On Kounde, Romano added: “For Kounde, it’s a crazy story because Chelsea were one step away from last summer. It was really, really close. It was a matter of details and then it collapsed because Sevilla were not happy to sell the player a few hours before the end of the market. “ Chelsea have always been in touch with his agents. Chelsea changed their board of course, with Marina and Petr Cech leaving the club. “ So the timing of this deal has been different but they are still in for Kounde. They reactivated the contacts with Kounde during the last weekend. So, Chelsea are still there. “ Barcelona are still there because Xavi is in love with Kounde. Xavi had some conversations with Kounde and the player would be open to joining Barcelona. So it is now time to find an agreement with Sevilla. “ It is a real battle between Chelsea and Barcelona and we will know more.
“I think in general, in this week and next week, it will be the centre-back moment for the market because there are many players available in that position and many top clubs are looking for centre-backs, and so Chelsea will be pretty busy with this.”
