Barcelona star ‘forced to accept’ Chelsea or Spurs move; gives ‘green light’ to January deal
Jules Kounde has been ‘forced to accept’ a move away from Barcelona to either Tottenham or Chelsea in the summer, according to reports.
The Catalan giants have started the season off in great form with seven wins from a possible seven in La Liga, while they beat Feyenoord 5-1 in their only Champions League fixture to date.
Things couldn’t be going much better on the field for Barcelona with Hansi Flick’s side attempting to retain their La Liga crown from last term.
Kounde has only started one of their seven La Liga matches so far with Eric Garcia preferred at right-back over the France international.
The former Sevilla defender has made three subsitute appearances too for Barcelona in the league but there has been criticism of his performances.
And now reports in Spain insist that Kounde is ‘beginning to accept that his future at Barça may lie elsewhere’ with the Frenchman ‘forced to accept’ a transfer is best for his career.
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Chelsea and Tottenham ‘are closely monitoring his situation’ and Kounde ‘has given his agents the green light to hold meetings in London’ with the two clubs.
The report adds: ‘Barça are willing to listen to significant offers if the deal allows them to strengthen their right-back position with Pedro Porro. Koundé maintains a high market value, and the club believe that a sale for a fee close to or exceeding €70 million could pave the way for one of the signings most favored by Hansi Flick and, above all, Lamine Yamal.
‘The Premier League appears to be the most logical destination given the club’s financial resources and the player’s profile. Koundé can play both centre-back and right-back, and this versatility makes him an attractive option for clubs seeking defenders capable of adapting to various systems.’
Chelsea should ditch zonal marking – John Terry
After their poor start to the season, Chelsea legend John Terry has called on Xabi Alonso to ditch zonal marking from set-pieces after their defeat to Brentford.
Terry said on his YouTube channel: “I’m a little bit old school, I like man for man. I don’t like this zonal marking, front marking.
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“I think Brentford came out at half-time and identified that we are exposed at the back post and our smaller men are picking up their biggest players so effectively, we were allowing Brentford to win those headers.
“[Valentin] Barco is never winning those headers. You could put 100 balls into the box and he’s not beating Jannik Schuster, absolutely no chance.
“But when that happens, no one knows who they’re marking once it goes over those front-post players in that space.
“Again, I don’t like this zonal marking. I know pretty much every team is doing it but there’s just no responsibility in players.
“For me, you have to be accountable. Whoever is marking Jaidon Anthony comes in at half-time or after the game, puts their hands up and says, “Sorry boys, that’s my man and I lost him!”
“As soon as that ball goes over your head in that near-post space, if you’re marking Anthony then your full focus still has to be Anthony. It’s for someone else to deal with that longer ball around the far post.”
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