Sevilla will not sell Jules Kounde for below his €80m (£68.75m) release clause, according to ABC. The Spanish newspaper claims the Frenchman is looking to leave the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium as he has ambitions of winning titles but his club are playing hardball with his valuation.

Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham are all thought to be very interested in signing the 22-year-old, although it is said that the centre-back has set his sights on moving to Real Madrid.

Kounde believes that if Raphael Varane does leave the Bernabeu, along with Sergio Ramos, there would be a space for him in Carlo Ancelotti’s starting eleven.

However, with Real unwilling to trigger the defender’s release clause, it does mean other teams such as Chelsea are still in with a good chance of securing the player’s signature.

Signing a new number nine is reportedly Blues boss Thomas Tuchel’s top priority, but a move for a centre-half may also be on the agenda this summer.