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Barcelona are planning a summer move for long-term Chelsea target Jules Koundé.
The West London club spent much of last summer chasing the 23-year old French international, only to be thwarted when his current club, Sevilla, refused to budge on his valuation.
They were again linked with him last month, but Seville, who are chasing the league title, did not want to let him leave mid-season.
And now there is a risk that they could lose out on him altogether.
Despite their current financial difficulties, Barcelona are continuing to strengthen their team, with the aid of free transfers and bank loans.
New manager Xavi is aware that the centre of defence is the next area of the team in need of an upgrade, with Gerard Piqué in the twilight of his career, and he has identified Koundé, who is powerful, fast and imposing in the air, as the ideal candidate to replace him.
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.