Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic has spoken out on Jules Kounde’s potential move to Chelsea as he highlighted the Premier League clubs’ superior spending power in the transfer market.
Recent reports suggest the Blues are confident they are leading the race to sign Kounde despite competition from Barcelona.
The 23-year-old centre-back has also agreed a five-year deal with Chelsea and is expected to complete a £55m deal very soon.
Kounde’s decision to fly to Lagos, Portugal to be with his Sevilla teammates during their pre-season, despite the potential move, certainly raised some doubts, but Rakitic admitted everyone at the club is aware of the situation.
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“We talked to him to give him a sense of normalcy. He needs some nonsense from us”, said the Croatian midfielder to Mediaset and El Desmarque.
“We are grateful that he wanted to join us [in Portugal]we all know what his situation is, we don’t have to be too smart, so we have to give him all our love.
“It’s simple… if he stays, great, and if not, someone else will come. There is no problem at all.
“We treat him with a lot of affection, no problem, and the days he’s here he knows we love him very much.”
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Speaking about Diego Carlos’ move to Aston Villa, Rakitic added: “It’s normal that we can’t compete with the same strength as the Premier League or teams that have that strength in their pockets.
“Understand that, there is no problem. You have to understand that Sevilla has always been like this”.
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A Chelsea fan who loves football statistics. He studied sports journalism at the University of Sunderland.
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