Sevilla sporting director, Monchi, has claimed Chelsea missed out on signing Jules Kounde because they had doubts over where he would fit in their squad.
Kounde is due to have a medical and sign his Barcelona contract today after both clubs agreed on a deal on Thursday.
Monchi has blamed Chelsea for the failed move to Stamford Bridge as he told Sevilla’s channels that the west London club voluntarily stopped talks last weekend over some last-minute doubts.
“Chelsea kept us locked in talks for the past month, and both us and the player reached a verbal agreement with them last Thursday,” Monchi said.
“But at the last moment, when everything seemed to be sealed and agreed, Chelsea had a few doubts on the movement that would have caused in their squad, and if the type of player that they needed was actually a profile like Jules Kounde or someone else.
“Talks stalled at the weekend, and even though they put in a really good bid they preferred to wait, which is totally logical and normal. During this hard bargaining, [Barcelona sporting director] Mateu Alemany manifested their interest for the first time on Monday.
“We asked them to make a bid and their first one fell short of what we were expecting. But after working on it, also thanks to an important effort from Barcelona’s side, we got to a very important figure which makes up the record sale in the club’s history.
“Chelsea then returned to the table, but eventually, we accepted Barcelona’s bid because it was better than Chelsea’s. Eventually, we sold the player to a club which he is happy to go to, while Sevilla were able to get the best possible terms.”
