Bid Submitted: Arsenal have submitted their transfer request to sign £70m Highly French defender – Player set to follow His country man to Arsenal
Arsenal are interested in signing Barcelona defender Jules Kounde this summer, according to reputed journalist Gerard Romero.
The Gunners have been linked with multiple centre-backs during the current transfer window and Riccardo Calafiori emerged as a target yesterday.
Speaking in his Twitch channel today, Romero has now revealed that the Gunners are keen on landing Kounde, but Barcelona are unlikely to sell unless there’s a big offer.
The Catalan outfit are also waiting to see what will happen with Ronald Araujo, who has been linked with a possible departure amid the lack of contract talks.
He said: “Arsenal are interested in Jules Kounde. Barca say he will not leave unless there’s a big offer, but they are also waiting to see what will happen with Ronald Araujo.”
Kounde speculation could be agent-driven
The Frenchman is one of the best defenders in La Liga. He has made an equal number of appearances at right-back and centre-back for the Blaugrana since his arrival in 2022.
Kounde has caught the eye with his sublime distribution. He completed 91 percent of his passes last term, winning an impressive 55 percent of his ground and aerial duels.
The £38 million-rated star also made 2.2 clearances and 4.5 ball recoveries per game, keeping 15 clean sheets. Despite his statistics, we don’t believe Arsenal will make a move.
Kounde is right-footed and prefers to operate on the right side of central defence. Arsenal have the position well equipped with William Saliba and Jurrien Timber.
Timber can also comfortably play at right-back and should provide handy competition to Ben White next season.
In our view, the club are more likely to strengthen the left central defensive and left-back department, considering Jakub Kiwior continues to be linked with an exit.
Bologna’s Calafiori would be an ideal upgrade on Kiwior. In the case of Kounde, his agent could be using Arsenal’s name to invite interest from other potential suitors.
