Monchi appears to confirm Kounde Sevilla exit with Barcelona closing in

Sevilla sporting director Monchi has seemingly confirmed the imminent sale of Jules Kounde to Barcelona, saying the club “feel good” despite significant departures.

The LaLiga side have already sold Diego Carlos to Premier League side Aston Villa for £26million and Kounde is set to follow his former defensive partner in moving away from Andalusia.

Kounde was also highly touted for a move to Chelsea, but Barca have reportedly swooped in late to land the centre-back – and Monchi appears to have confirmed the exit of the France international.

“When the two best players leave a team, the challenge to replace them is not easy, but we feel good about this,” he told the Daily Mail.

“We really trust [Julen] Lopetegui, our manager, because we sell players, but we are sure the players we sign will be better.”

2 – Jules Koundé has completed 5,233 passes in 95 LaLiga appearances (88.6% accuracy), a tally bettered only by Jordi Alba