Tottenham are still interested in Jules Kounde, but so is everyone else

Everyone, pack your bags and be prepared for a deep trip into a very dark places called the salt mine.

Spanish outlet La Colina de Nervion, a Seville-based outlet, dropped a story yesterday that includes a rather large update on the chase for Sevilla center back Jules Koundé, one of the top players that can be purchased in the transfer market this summer. It has a lot of information! It’s also why I’m telling you to tread carefully with this one because it’s oddly specific on a few things.

We’ll start with the primary gist of the story: Koundé is available for the right price. We know this and it’s not earth-shattering news. The writer, Mario Mijenz Garcia, states that multiple clubs are interested, including Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Manchester City. The key parts of the story involving Spurs are that the club would be willing to go up to €50m but then strongly suggests that it means Harry Kane is headed north to Manchester City. That may be true, but there’s also a lot of deadwood Spurs are trying to sell off that might make it possible.

United and City might be sniffing around, but United just dropped a cool £73m on Jadon Sancho and have locked onto Raphael Varane as the Red Devils look to strengthen their back line. While United essentially print money, they are now under new leadership as Ed Woodward is no longer controlling things. Nobody is sure what their new transfer guidelines and budget actually are, but they may also be going for Varane because they think he fits their squad better. He won’t be cheap either, and if they can afford Varane, United can certainly afford Koundé.

City being interested seems to fall into the category of “they’re interested in everyone” when reading between the lines. Pep Guardiola’s side probably aren’t looking at anyone unless a good deal comes along to add to the depth, given it’s pretty crowded back there and they spent €65m on Ruben Dias last summer, a number that is reportedly going to increase because of possible add-ons. Of course, City are involved in this because of Harry Kane. Spurs selling Kane obviously makes it easy to purchase Koundé but then there’s that gaping hole at the top of the formation to deal with.

Koundé is a fantastic talent. While he’s on the shorter side for a center back at just 5’10”, he is still great in the air and is wonderful on the ball. There’s no question he would improve our defense instantly, especially if Spurs bring in Tomiyasu and/or Joachim Andersen. The challenge is coming up with the funds. He has a release clause of reportedly €65m but Sevilla are willing to let him go for the reported €50m that’s getting tossed around.

There’s a tone of ifs, ands, buts and everything in between with this. Add in the unknown reliability of the source, even though it’s a local outlet, and the bottom line is that this is a bunch of conjecture relying on information that’s already been rumored or reported. This could also be Sevilla holding up a gigantic neon sign to bigger clubs saying “Come and buy this guy” without doing any work.

Are Spurs interested in Koundé? Of course, but so is everyone else.