Todd Boehly pledges £200m: 5 signings Chelsea NEED this summer

Jules Kounde – Sevilla (23)

Jules Kounde is a name that most Chelsea fans will know of given the high profile chase the club has had with the player over the last year. Standing at just 5ft 10in, he is on the smaller side for a centre-back but his exceptional defensive instincts and playmaking ability/potential bodes well for Thomas Tuchel and his 3-back lineup.

Kounde was first approached by Pep and Manchester City in 2020 but they had a £50M bid rejected before turning the way of Ruben Dias. His minutes are mainly at the right centre-back slot where he ranks an impressive 84th and 85th percentile in ground duels in and out of possession respectively. These are benchmarked by position and adjusted to league wide averages.

He also averages 13.52 long balls attempted per 90 minutes, a number marginally below current and departing centre back  Rudiger with 14.64. A pricetag of £51M + bonuses and additional variables has been suggested recently and should that be true, I feel as though it’s a near no brainer that Chelsea should drive this deal to the finish line.