SEVILLA have rejected a bid topping £46million for Jules Kounde from an unnamed English club.
Manchester City have been strongly linked with the Frenchman in Pep Guardiola’s hunt for a new centre-back.
Jules Kounde impressed many with his first season in Spanish footballCredit: Getty Images – Getty
After signing Nathan Ake in the summer, the Premier League side are still in the market with Kalidou Koulibaly and Jose Gimenez also targets.
Sevilla transfer chief Monchi confirmed earlier in the week that a bid was rejected for Kounde.
And the Spaniard has told the Telegraph that an English team was behind the offer, worth “more than double” the £23m they spent on the defender a year ago.
He said: “Jules is an immense professional and I have no doubt about his involvement with our club.
“It was a great gamble by the sporting management last season that has also grown a lot in 2019-20.
“An offer from English football has arrived, we have assessed it and rejected it because, although it is more than double the investment we made 12 months ago, we consider it to be insufficient.
“If more offers arrive, we will assess it and decide, as we always do. We are not afraid to sell, because that is what we have done over the last two decades and that is what has allowed us to grow.
“It is our model, selling in order to grow. But we want to sell for a significant amount so that we can reinvest those amounts in new players who in turn improve the squad.”
Kounde, 21, has a £68m release clause after arriving in Andalusia from Bordeaux in 2019, and is capped at France’s Under-21 level.
Reports in Spain suggest personal terms have already been agreed between the player and City, although he is only one of many centre-backs on their radar.
Atletico Madrid club president Enrique Cerezo claims to have turned down a £78m bid for Uruguay international Gimenez.
While Napoli are putting in a staunch defence for Koulibaly, who has starred in Italy for six years and is valued at around £70m.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
