Chelsea and Barcelona have somehow been entangled around the same targets this summer.

Chelsea had been linked with a move for Raphinha who ended up joining Barcelona, and the club’s links with Ousmane Dembele didn’t end well either.

Also, Barcelona signed former Blues defender Andreas Christensen on a free transfer, and are attempting to sign Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.

Chelsea had been linked with the Sevilla star Jules Kounde for over a year now, and the Blues had even reached an agreement with Kounde last year, but Sevilla didn’t sell.

The Blues are back in for the Frenchman, and Barcelona have also been linked with the 23-year-old centre-back.

Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo has backed Barcelona to sign Kounde from Sevilla.

Should Kounde ultimately go on to seal a move to Barcelona, Araujo would be one of those that could lose his first-choice position in the Barcelona defence.

However, Araujo has maintained that adding quality is ‘always a positive thing’.

But it seems Chelsea might win the race for Kounde this time.

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

The Blues had slowed down in a move for Kounde until the deal for Nathan Ake broke down.

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.