A player I’ve covered before as a transfer target for Chelsea and Liverpool is now available on the market for just £55m – that player is Jules Kounde. As first reported via the Daily Briefing, Barcelona surprisingly open to letting the France international go this summer as they look to reshape their squad and make money from player sales.Although the Catalan giants’ financial situation is no longer as dire as it was a few years ago, there is still a desire to be careful when it comes to Financial Fair Play regulations.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYSources have again informed me that Kounde is someone seen as expendable at Barca, and the club have been sounding out previous suitors such as Chelsea and Liverpool as possible buyers.Jules Kounde transfer could be a tempting optionI was previously told that Chelsea could make an approach for Kounde if he’s available this summer, and, to be perfectly transparent with you, I’m not aware of that happening yet.However, I’ve checked with multiple sources on this again and it seems the Blues’ interest hasn’t gone away. It’s possible that this dip in Kounde’s asking price, which had been closer to £65-70m, will now invite more concrete interest.Chelsea are exploring a number of defensive options, so it’s possible that Kounde is someone they’ll come back to depending on how things develop with Maxence Lacroix, who I’m reliably told has developed into more of a priority target.More Stories / Latest NewsSources: Chelsea & Liverpool given opportunity to sign versatile star for reduced £55m feeJul 2 2026, 9:43Report: Tottenham ready to rival Arsenal for £80m star as big transfer spending to continueJul 2 2026, 8:28£30m Liverpool star could U-turn on transfer as two suitors namedJul 2 2026, 7:37Kounde can play right-back or centre-back to a high standard, so it’s also unclear if Chelsea have worked out precisely how much they need him yet. If they sign Lacroix then they probably don’t need him in central defence anymore, while bringing him in as a right-back could depend on what happens with Malo Gusto, who is a target for Enzo Maresca at Manchester City.Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustLiverpool’s interest was never as concrete, but I understand the Reds are also still there keeping an eye on developments. They certainly need signings at the back after losing Ibrahima Konate, while Virgil van Dijk is starting to look past his best. At right-back, they might also do well to think about an upgrade on the unconvincing Jeremie Frimpong.What’s clear is that Barcelona are open to letting Kounde go, and he’ll have interest from the Premier League and elsewhere in Europe.The post Sources: Chelsea & Liverpool given opportunity to sign versatile star for reduced £55m fee appeared first on CaughtOffside.