Chelsea in direct contact to sign La Liga star

Chelsea are reportedly in direct contact with Sevilla to land the signature of Jules Kounde.

The Blues are keen on landing a new centre-back this month despite the emergence of Trevoh Chalobah.

They recently failed with a player-plus-cash deal for Kounde that would have seen Kurt Zouma move to Sevilla.

Sevilla prefer a straight-cash agreement, and Fabrizio Romano claims that the Blues are in negotiations with them.

However, they may need to move fast as the La Liga club may be reluctant to sell as the transfer deadline nears.

There was an €80 million buy-out clause on the Frenchman's contract, but that has now increased to around €90m.

Sevilla are prepared to accept a lesser fee up front. It is claimed that they could do business for between €65-70m.

It remains to be seen whether the Blues will seal the deal. They are planning to offload Kurt Zouma before making a move.

Zouma, who is valued at €30m, is wanted by West Ham United.