Chelsea look set to miss out on Jules Kounde this summer after Sevilla demanded more money in a late change to the deal. The Frenchman had been eyed as the next arrival at Stamford Bridge but the transfer now looks dead.
Chelsea are set to miss out on Kounde after Sevilla demanded more money despite having a verbal agreement in place over a deal.
The Blues sold Kurt Zouma to West Ham for just under £30m and were set to make a move for the 22-year-old to replace him.
Personal terms have already been agreed with Kounde and a fee of around £52m had been put in place as soon as a move for Zouma had been complete.
But at the last minute, Sevilla have demanded an extra £12.8m, which would take the deal close to £65m.
It has led to Chelsea pulling out of the deal with the chances of an agreement now looking unlikely, report the Athletic.
Sevilla have struggled to find a replacement for Kounde with Lille star Sven Botman proving too difficult to prise away from north France.
The Spanish club are keen not to be left empty-handed in their pursuit of a centre-back and have whacked their asking price up in a bid to earn more cash to find someone to fill his boots.
But Chelsea are not playing along and are now preparing to pull out of a deal with just two days left in the transfer window.
They are prepared to revisit a move in January when the winter market opens.
Instead, Thomas Tuchel is set to continue with his current options with Trevoh Chalobah set to play more of a role after impressing early season.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger have all entered the final year of their contracts, meaning there could be a completely different backline at Stamford Bridge next season.
However, the former duo appear likely to sign new deals whereas the latter two could be on their way out.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG are interested in Rudiger whereas Silva could either retire or return to Brazil.
Romelu Lukaku is the ony notable arrival at Chelsea this summer while there have been plenty of exits in the shape of Tammy Abraham, Marc Guehi and Davide Zappacosta.