Chelsea are reportedly expected to miss out on signing Paris Saint-Germain defender Presnel Kimpembe.
Blues head coach Thomas Tuchel has made no secret of the fact that he wants to sign at least one more centre-back before the end of the summer transfer window.
While Kalidou Koulibaly has already arrived from Napoli, the Premier League outfit have witnessed both Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger depart on free transfers.
With Chelsea having lost out to Bayern Munich in the race to secure the signature of Juventus' Matthijs de Ligt, speculation persists that the West Londoners are keen on Jules Kounde and Kimpembe.
Although Chelsea are known to have a long-standing interest in Kounde, their admiration for his French compatriot has only become clear in recent days.
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Tuchel is no stranger to the 26-year-old having worked with him during his stint at Parc des Princes between May 2018 and December 2020.
Nevertheless, according to L'Equipe, Kimpembe has already informed PSG officials that he does not want to leave the club this summer.
With two years remaining on the player's contract, there has been the suggestion that the Ligue 1 champions are open to a sale for the right price, believed to be £42m.
Furthermore, new head coach Christophe Galtier has already acknowledged that he was unsure whether he would be able to call upon the long-serving defender for 2022-23.
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Speaking to the same outlet last week, Galtier said: "I've read everything that has been said about Kimpembe. We even laughed about it together! I like him – he's a great centre-back but what will happen, I don't know."
However, unless Kimpembe has a change of heart, it appears that he will spend an 18th successive year with the club having coming through the academy system.
In total, Kimpembe has made a total of 221 appearances for PSG, winning five Ligue 1 titles during his time in the senior ranks.
Chelsea may now decide to increase their efforts to sign Kounde, aware that Barcelona are also readying an approach for the Sevilla man.
Darren Plant
