Chelsea appear to have given up on landing Jules Kounde from Sevilla according to Sport. The Stamford bridge club are fed up with the delay process in finalizing the deal for the defender and also Barcelona’s interference.

But the Blues need to get their defence right following the exits of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger and are likely to lose Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso. They only brought in Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli but still need to strengthen if they’re to improve on last season’s third-placed finish in the Premier League. A suitable replacement for the exited players could be Nordi Mukiele of Leipzig.

Mukiele’s contract with Leipzig expires next summer and the German club are open to allowing him to leave for a good price.

Paris Saint-Germain had been close to signing him for a fee of €15m but Chelsea’s presence in the race for his signature could change things, especially if they include Timo Werner in the deal.