Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle with Sevilla to sign Jules Kounde.
The 23-year-old French international was expected to join Chelsea this week after the Premier League club and Sevilla agreed to a £55 million deal.
However, the defender will now stay in La Liga after Barcelona agreed to a preliminary agreement to sign him.
“The official nature of the deal is dependent on the player passing a medical and the signing of contracts,” read a statement on the club’s website.
He joins Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, who arrived at the Camp Nou for around £100 million from Bayern Munich and Leeds United, respectively.
Frank Kessie joined on a free transfer from AC Milan, as did Andreas Christensen from Chelsea. Following the departure of the Dane, as well as Antonio Rudiger’s free transfer to Real Madrid, the London club was forced to look for defensive reinforcements.
