Report claims £75m LaLiga star has accepted shock offer to join Liverpool over projected Chelsea move

Liverpool are reportedly looking to beat Chelsea to the signing of Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde, with the player also said to have agreed to the switch.

According to El Nacional, Jurgen Klopp’s men are willing to activate the release clause worth €90million (£75m) to sign the France centre-back in the January window ahead of their Premier League rivals from west London.

On top of that revelation, the Catalan outlet also states that Kounde has accepted Liverpool’s offer to head to Anfield this month.

The 23-year-old has been tracked by Chelsea and Real Madrid for some time, with Reds admirers from a distance.

However, El Nacional states that Klopp wants to sign Kounde now. The reason given is that the German fears the defender will be snapped up by another club in the summer.

Kounde has been outstanding for a Sevilla side that currently sits second in the LaLiga table. Julen Lopetegui’s men also won the Europa League in 2020 with Kounde at the heart of their defence.

So far this season the former Bordeaux man has starred in 17 league outings, during which Sevilla have kept nine clean sheets. The Spanish giants have also only let in 13 goals in 20 games.

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For their part, Liverpool are not short on centre-backs, after Klopp learned from last season’s injury woes in that regard.

Ibrahima Konate was signed over the summer to provide competition for Joel Matip and Joe Gomez alongside Virgil van Dick.

Kounde signing building on a Liverpool strength

But despite their strength in numbers, it would appear that Klopp is ready to add another quality centre-back to the mix.

But missing out on Kounde would be a huge blow to Chelsea, who need new defenders this summer.

Germany star Antonio Rudiger is on his way out of the club. Cesar Azpilicuea and Andreas Christensen can also leave on free transfers.

There was some recent good news, however, after Thiago Silva penned a new one-year contract.

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