Manchester United And Chelsea Interested In Barcelona Defenders

Jules Kunde will be sold by Barcelona later this season (Instagram/@jkeey4).

JAKARTA - Manchester United and Chelsea are competing to get Barcelona defender Jules Kunde at the end of this season.

According to The Sun's report, Barcelona is experiencing financial difficulties. No wonder, the Director of Blaugrana Sports, Deco, intends to release two center-backs this summer.

One of the names on the sale list is Kounde.

Barca plans to tighten the belt by only putting their trust in Ronald Araujo and Pau Cubarsi in the heart of the main defense.

Kounde, who can play in center and right-back, actually still wants to be at the Nou Camp. However, the club wants to sell it to raise funds.

Seeing the signal, Manchester United and Chelsea immediately showed interest in the French national team player.

The Blues are closely linked to Kounde. The 25-year-old defender has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge before he joined Barcelona from Sevilla in 2022.

However, it turns out that there is Manchester United who is eyeing Kounde.

You see, both Chelsea and Manchester United are in need of strengthening in the defense. The defensive side of the two is quite fragile this season.

In the 2023/2024 Premier League, the Red Devils have conceded 39 goals, while the Blues have conceded 45 goals.

Jules Kunde actually has a long contract at Camp Nou with a duration of five years or until 2027. However, given his status that will be on the sale list, negotiations on the remaining compensation for the contract do not seem to be tough.

The 25-year-old has made 75 appearances for Barcelona and won the La Liga title last season. In addition, he has already packed 24 matches with the French national team.

Kounde played consistently as a centre-back compared to right-back. At appearing at the heart of defense in Barcelona's last nine matches in La Liga 2023/2024.