Chelsea are reportedly in talks with Sevilla over the signing of defender Jules Kounde, and could send Kurt Zouma in the other direction to avoid forking out £68 million.

The European champions are on the hunt for defensive reinforcements after selling Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi to AC Milan and Crystal Palace, respectively.

According to the Guardian, Kounde is keen on moving to England and playing Champions League football next season, but Chelsea won’t trigger his €80m (£68.4m) release clause.

Goal reports that to get around the issue, the Blues are willing to include Zouma in the deal.

Sevilla have already sold Bryan Gil to Tottenham this summer and therefore aren’t in immediate need of raising cash through sales, but a player-plus-cash bid could soften their stance.

Thomas Tuchel is understood to be eager to reinforce his Champions League-winning squad, but there have been far more rumours than deals at Stamford Bridge so far.

Kounde is one of the most sought-after young defenders in European football after excelling in Spain since his 2019 move from Bordeaux.

The 22-year-old stood out when Sevilla won the Europa League in his debut campaign, and earned a call-up to France’s Euro 2020 squad this summer.

Kounde is only 5ft 8in, but possesses excellent technical ability and positional awareness and can shift out to right back when needed, as he did for Les Bleus during the Euros.

With Sevilla’s LaLiga rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid facing major financial problems, this summer appears to be the perfect opportunity for Chelsea to steal the march on a player who could well become one of the leading stars in his role in the future.

Speculation continues to circulate about potential Blues bids for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland and West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, but Kounde appears to be a more easily achievable, and less expensive, target.