Reports from Spain indicate that Barcelona have turned down Arsenal’s initial bid for Jules Kounde.
Kounde, who joined Barcelona for €50 million (£41.8m) from Sevilla two years ago, has just completed his second season with the club.
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The 25-year-old defender, who can play both centre-back and right-back, mainly featured as a right-back for Barcelona last season and has also played in that position for France in their three group matches at Euro 2024.
According to Jijantes, Arsenal have inquired about Kounde’s availability this summer, but Barcelona are not interested in selling the French international.
‘Barca have told them he is not going to leave at the moment and for Jules Kounde to leave it would take a high offer,’ said Jijantes host Gerard Romero.
‘They have told Arsenal they are waiting for Ronald Araujo and it depends what happens with him.
‘I have a lot of doubts about selling Jules. I agree in the end you can’t sell both, you have to sell one or the other.’
Since Kounde has a €1 billion (£837m) release clause in his Barcelona contract, Arsenal would have to negotiate a transfer fee for the defender.
Meanwhile, Ronald Araujo’s future at Barcelona is uncertain as the club is open to offers for the Uruguayan international this summer.
Araujo’s current contract runs until 2026, and several European clubs, including Manchester United and Bayern Munich, showed interest in signing him during the January transfer window.
Reports suggest that Barcelona would consider offers around €100m (£84.6m) for Araujo to raise funds. However, this price might not be appealing to United, who are operating with a limited budget this summer.
In March, Barcelona president Joan Laporta expressed a preference for keeping Araujo at the club.
‘I would renew him for life,’ Laporta said.
‘He’s a wonderful person. He is one of the best centre-backs at the club.’
When asked this week if he could guarantee that he would be playing for Barcelona next season, Araujo replied: ‘I am 100 per cent focused on the Copa America.’
