Chelsea looking to beat Tottenham to Kounde deal

Tottenham and Chelsea are both being linked with France defender Jules Kounde.

The 22-year-old has been tipped to leave Sevilla this summer, with Real Madrid also said to be interested in him.

Spanish newspaper Sport have reported that Spurs are willing to offer £51m for Kounde – which is apparently significantly more than Real.

But The Sun on Sunday have picked up on another Spanish publication, Eldesmarque, claiming that Spurs face competition from Chelsea in a battle to sign Kounde.

Tottenham are certainly looking to bring in a central defender in the coming weeks – but Chelsea already have plenty of options in that position.

Veteran defender Thiago Silva recently had his contract extended by another year, while the club are expected to soon extend the contracts of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.

Christensen was outstanding after coming in for Silva last season and continued to impress for Denmark at the European Championship.

Rudiger appeared to be on his way out of the Bridge when overlooked by former manager Frank Lampard, but he has re-established himself since the appointment of fellow German Thomas Tuchel and looks set to extend his stay at the club.

That gives Tuchel a wealth of centre-back options – and reports have suggested that Kurt Zouma could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge.

According to Telefoot reporter Julien Maynard, Wolves expressed an interest in Zouma and although he was not keen on a move to Molineux he is likely to leave Chelsea this summer.