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Despite being linked with him all summer, Chelsea ultimately failed to secure a deal for Sevilla centre-back Jules Koundé.
In the end the Premier League side backed away because they deemed the asking price too expensive.
Koundé wanted the move but it was denied him after the Spanish club refused to budge on their valuation of the French international at €80 million. The West London club made four bids, the last of which was €55 million, but the gap between the two clubs proved insurmountable in the end.
Chelsea had already sold Kurt Zouma to West Ham to make way for Koundé in hs squad, but he will now have to make do with what he has in terms of defensive options, at least until January.
However, the club did at least secure one signing from La Liga, midfielder Saúl Ñiguez joining from Atlético Madrid on loan for the rest of the campaign.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.