Chelsea want to strengthen their defender and according to a report in TBR Football, the Blues are willing to pay €150 million for two world-class Barcelona defenders.
The Blues are being linked with Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde both of whom were on Chelsea’s radar a couple of seasons ago. The EPL side missed out on both of them however, they are now planning to go after them once again.
Thanks to the Nike deal, Barcelona have been able to stabilise much of their finances but they still need to balance their books before the end of this season. €150 million is a lot of money at this point and Chelsea are banking on the fact that Barca’s financial crunch will force them to sell both players.
Will Barcelona agree to sell two of their best players to Chelsea?
Ronald Araujo and Barcelona are engaged in contract talks and rumours claim that the defender will eventually sign a new deal. However, he is yet to feature for Hansi Flick and without him, the Blaugrana have done just fine.
Araujo has just returned to training after a long injury layoff and if Barca can maintain their stable defensive record without him, there’s no reason why Laporta wouldn’t want to cash in on Ronald Araujo.
Jules Kounde is a whole different scenario because the 26-year-old has become a key figure under the new Barca manager and this season he’s started 12 out of the 14 LaLiga games for the club.
Kounde is primarily a centre-back but can also play on the right and this versatility will come in handy for Maresca who is currently relying on a massively injury-prone Reece James.
Kounde will not only help strengthen the centre-back position at Chelsea but he can be the ideal replacement for James as well.
Having said that, these two defenders are valued at €125 million so there is no way Barca will accept €150 million for them. Araujo’s contract expires in 2026 while Kounde still has three years remaining with the Blaugrana.
The new Chelsea owners have not shied away from spending money in the market so it won’t be crazy to see them offering €170-175 million for the Barca pair, that too during the middle of the season. The Blues are expected to get rid of several unwanted players like Mudryk, Enzo and Nkunku during the January window which means they will have the money to splurge on Kounde and Ronald Araujo.
