Manchester City have been linked with a move for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.

What's the news?

According to a recent report from Mundo Deportivo (via Daily Mail), the Premier League champions are set to enter the race to sign the defender alongside Chelsea and Barcelona.

After making 70 senior appearances for his previous club Bordeaux, in which he scored four goals, the Frenchman made his way to Sevilla in 2019. Since then, the 23-year-old has made 133 appearances for the Spanish club across all competitions, chipping in with nine goals and three assists.

To highlight his defensive capabilities, in his 150 league appearances since the 2017/18 season, the France international has won 93 tackles and made 201 blocks, 171 interceptions and 646 clearances.

Looking at his La Liga performances last term, only Diego Carlos ended the campaign with a higher average of clearances and blocks per game than Kounde among the Andalucians' squad.

In terms of his overall performances, the centre-back earned himself an overall season rating of 6.92/10 from WhoScored, making him Sevilla's second-highest rated player. This shows how capable he is of playing at a high level for one of Europe's top clubs and why the likes of City, Chelsea and Barcelona are reportedly after him.

Forget Ake

Hailed as a "sensational" player by journalist Marcus Bring, Kounde would reportedly be allowed to leave Sevilla this summer if an offer of €65m (£54m) comes in for him, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Nathan Ake has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea this summer, so should the Dutchman find himself moving to Stamford Bridge this summer, this could clear a pathway for the Citizens to launch a move for Kounde as his potential replacement.

If Ake does end up waving goodbye to the Etihad Stadium in the coming weeks, a move for the Sevilla defender could be a great next step for City so that they don't go into the new season with one fewer senior figure at the back.

However, with the likes of Ruben Dias, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte at Pep Guardiola's disposal, any centre-back who potentially joins City this summer would likely have a challenge on their hands in terms of getting regular game-time.

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