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Chelsea are reportedly closing in on a deal to sign Jules Kounde from Sevilla before Tuesday’s transfer deadline. The Blues are keen to add another defender to Thomas Tuchel’s ranks despite already being quite packed in the area.
Kounde has a reported £68million release clause inserted into his contract with the La Liga side, and Chelsea could take advantage of it in the coming days.
Tuchel has a slight defensive dilemma in the sense that three of his usual starters are in the final year of their contracts.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen were all excellent in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool and the club are attempting to resolve their futures.
The Champions League winners have also allowed Kurt Zouma to join West Ham, leaving a slot for Kounde to fill.
Express Sport looks at the numbers the 22-year-old could take if he completes his switch.
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No 18
Romelu Lukaku would perhaps have taken eighteen upon his return to Chelsea if Tammy Abraham had remained at the club.
The £97.5m arrival has instead fitted seamlessly into the now-Roma striker’s No 9 shirt, scoring on his debut in the 2-0 victory at Arsenal.
No 18 was Lukaku’s number during his first spell with Chelsea, in which he made 15 appearances but failed to score.
The number has been vacant since Olivier Giroud’s £1m move to AC Milan at the start of the transfer window.
Loic Remy, Yuri Zhirkov and Wayne Bridge have also donned the shirt with varying degrees of success.
No 23
Kounde could take the number that he has been assigned at Sevilla this season.
He previously wore No 12 for two seasons after arriving from Bordeaux in 2019.
No 23 is a famous number in sport having been used by David Beckham at Real Madrid and LA Galaxy, and by Michael Jordan throughout his basketball career.
Billy Gilmour technically occupies the shirt but he is on loan at Norwich City. It was previously Michy Batshuayi’s but Gilmour was assigned the digits when the Belgian was enjoying a temporary spell at Crystal Palace.
No 27
Twenty-five is another number that has some sentimental value to Kounde but he cannot wear it as it has been unofficially retired since Gianfranco Zola’s departure in 2003.
A similar situation also rules him out of No 26 due to John Terry’s Chelsea legacy.
He wore it on his debut for France against Wales earlier this summer and remained Les Bleus’ No 25 for Euro 2020.
Kounde could instead take the No 27, which has been free since Christensen was promoted to No 4.
Other numbers available: 17, 30, 31, 31, 33.
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