According to Manu Sainz of Spanish media outlet AS, Chelsea are now very close to signing Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde.

Barcelona were also keen on signing the France international, with Barcelona boss Xavi speaking to the player to try to convince him, but it is Chelsea that have now reportedly won the race for the defender.

The French defender, with a release clause of £68million, was a key target for the Blues last summer as Chelsea aimed to bolster our back line.

Following Todd Boehly’s arrival, however, Chelsea moved onto other defensive targets like Nathan Ake and Matthijs de Ligt of Juventus.

However, with the Blues unable to reach an agreement with Manchester City for Ake and De Ligt keen on joining Bayern Munich, Chelsea moved quickly to beat Barcelona for the France defender.

Chelsea failed to sign Kounde last summer after being unwilling to meet Sevilla’s £68m release clause.

Kounde is now expected to join Chelsea this week except for a radical change.