I spoke of the Chelsea report approaching Jules Conde, but he faces competition from Barcelona, who made the Sevilla defender their first target
Reports in Spain claim that the Blues hope to reach a formal agreement as soon as next week
Barcelona president Laporta has spoken to the player, but the player appears ready to move to Stamford Bridge this summer
The deal for Conde, 23, will be a huge boost in Thomas Tuchel’s attempt to rebuild his defense after the exits of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen
Chelsea completed the £34m Kalidou Koulibaly deal this week from Napoli, and Conde will give Tuchel more options in the Blues defence
But Barcelona will not give up without a fight, as the Catalan giants look to build on an encouraging week in the transfer market after closing some major deals
Marca newspaper reported that Conde is now the “big target” for Chelsea, who are preparing to sign him, worth 51 million pounds
While Barcelona managed to sign Christensen earlier out the window, they are believed to be keen to include another centre-back
Conde is yet to join the Seville first team touring South Korea due to a pelvic surgery he had last month
