Who is Jules Kounde? Rudiger's big money replacement at Chelsea
With Antonio Rudiger departing, and Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta set to follow the German out of the Stamford Bridge exit, Chelsea's summer is expected to be dominated by their pursuit of a new centre-back. That is ultimately dependent on the club finding a new owner, with Todd Boehly now the reported frontrunner to succeed Roman Abramovich as the Blues' head honcho, but once the formalities are completed, attention really turns to squad investment.
Given the looming exits of the aforementioned trio, without additions at the back, Chelsea would head into 2022/23 with just three senior centre-backs - Thiago Silva, Nathaniel Chalobah and Malang Sarr. The former, while a revelation in west London, turns 38 in September and the latter has looked out of his depth when called upon, particularly to play at the heart of the defence.
With that in mind, Jules Kounde's move to Chelsea is likely to be confirmed sooner rather than later. The Frenchman was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham last summer, but Kounde rejected a move to Spurs as he, fairly, wanted Champions League football. A deal to take him to Chelsea later in the window seemed to be progressing well, only for a late change in stance from Sevilla that ultimately caused the move to collapse.
Chelsea haven't been deterred in their pursuit of Kounde, who remains high on the club's wishlist as they gear up for a defensive revamp. A solid performance in Sevilla's disappointing 1-1 home draw with Cadiz means the France international has returned a WhoScored rating of 6.90, that the fourth best of La Liga centre-backs this season, with the youngster vital in helping Sevilla to the best defensive record in Spain's top tier. Indeed, Julen Lopetegui's side have shipped just 28 goals in 34 league matches in 2021/22.
Sevilla took a risk in spending a reported €25m to sign Kounde from Bordeaux in 2019, but in his three years in Spain, he has blossomed into one of the finest centre-backs in the game. Manchester City had previously courted the 23-year-old, yet it seems a matter of when, rather than if, he'll move to Chelsea.
What stands out most about Kounde is his composure for a player his age. While youngsters may be eager to showcase what they can do, making rash decisions in the process, Kounde rather relies on his positional awareness to snuff out danger, only needing to physically dispossess an opponent if really required. That's noted in that he averages just 1.4 tackles per 90 in La Liga this season, but is being dribbled past just 0.3 times per 90, returning an attempted tackle success rate of 80%.
Meanwhile, only Diego Carlos (3.6) is making more clearances per 90 than Kounde (3.3) of all Sevilla players in Spain's top tier this term, with the Chelsea target so often in the race place at the right time to alleviate pressure on the Los Nervionenses goal. However, a key aspect behind Chelsea's interest in the defender is undoubtedly his distribution. One of Kounde's three statistically calculated WhoScored strengths is 'passing' and for good reason, with the player ranking seventh for passes per 90 (68.9) and 23rd for pass accuracy (88.6%) in La Liga this season.
At Chelsea, their top five players for passes per 90 are all centre-backs, with Silva (86.9) leading that metric. Meanwhile, the three players leading the way for best pass success rate for the Blues are all centre-backs, which Silva, again, tops (92.5%). There is still work to be done in order for Kounde to realise his full potential, yet working under the tutelage of the experienced Brazilian would certainly help the Sevilla man take his game to the next level.
What is important, though, is that Kounde doesn't retain possession for the meaning of it, but rather to help set Sevilla on the front foot. A return of 721 forward passes is the fourth most of outfield players in Spain's top tier this term, while 39.6% of his total passes help advance the play for the Spanish side. By comparison for Chelsea, Azpilicueta (39%) comes closest to matching the latter, and even then; the numbers are a little skewed considering the experienced Spaniard has featured at right-back or right wing-back more often than centre-back.
Kounde's total forward passes meanwhile would place him behind just Silva (775) and Rudiger (754) of all Chelsea players in league action this season, so his willingness to get the ball into midfield or to the wing-backs would be a boost for the Blues as they seek to replace the latter.
Even under pressure, Kounde doesn't flap as some may in his position so. Another of his strengths is 'Concentration' and it is warranted. In his 91 La Liga appearances, Kounde is yet to commit an error leading to an opposition goal, which speaks volumes of his ability to not be flustered when an opponent does look to force a mistake.
The reason Kounde's move to Chelsea last summer collapsed was because Sevilla moved the goalposts late in the transfer, demanding the Blues pay his reported £68.5m release clause when the west London side believed a deal was close to completion. However, with another solid season in Seville under his belt, Sevilla look to have played a blinder as they can now rightly demand Chelsea pay that fee in full this summer, playing on the Premier League side's need for a new centre-back in the process. Given Kounde's good form in Spain, he'd be worth the price.
