Barcelona ‘willing’ to sell €80m French star to Man Utd or Liverpool after ‘unexpected scenario’ – report

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·5 de febrero de 2026

Barcelona ‘willing’ to sell €80m French star to Man Utd or Liverpool after ‘unexpected scenario’ – report

Manchester United are keen on bringing Jules Kounde to Old Trafford, while Liverpool are aiming to convince the Barcelona defender to move to Anfield, according to a speculative report in Spain, as TEAMtalk analyses why a deal for either club would not be in their best interest.

Kounde has been on the books of Barcelona since the summer of 2022, when he joined from Sevilla, and is under contract at the defending Spanish champions until the summer of 2030. Blessed with the ability to play at right-back or in centre-back, the France international has made 175 appearances for Barcelona so far in his career, scoring 10 goals and providing 20 assists in the process.

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However, Kounde’s performances for Barcelona this season have been underwhelming defensively, despite manager Hansi Flick handing him 16 starts in LaLiga and eight starts in the Champions League.

While Kounde has a strong partnership with Lamine Yamal going forward, defensively, the right-back has been caught out many times.

There have been persistent rumours on the future of Kounde, with Fichajes now claiming that Barcelona have set a price-tag on the Frenchman.

According to the report, Barcelona are ‘willing to listen to offers for Jules Kounde in the summer’ and want €80million (£69.5m, $94.4m) for him.

The report has claimed that the defender’s ‘recent performance has opened up an unexpected scenario’, with Barcelona now ready to cash in on him at the end of the season.

With Flick not happy with Kounde defensively, Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool are said to be ‘closely monitoring’ his situation.

The defender’s ability to play as a right-back or as a centre-back is very appealing to the aforementioned Premier League clubs.

Bayern Munich are also said to be keen on Kounde.

Jules Kounde to Man Utd or Liverpool UNLIKELY to happen

Fichajes is not one of the most reliable sources, and any report from this particular Spanish media outlet needs to be taken with a huge pinch of salt.

There have been historical links between Liverpool, Man Utd and Kounde, but those have cooled down.

For Liverpool, Jeremie Frimpong is the first-choice right-back when he is fit and available, so Kounde would have to play second fiddle to the former Bayer Leverkusen star.

It is hard to see the defending Premier League champions pay €80million (£69.5m, $94.4m) for Kounde in the summer of 2026, especially as they spent heavily on Jeremy Jacquet, who will move to Anfield from Rennes at the end of the season.

Giovanni Leoni is another young centre-back who will come into the picture for Liverpool next season when he is fully fit and available.

While Liverpool will need a more mature and established centre-back to eventually replace Virgil van Dijk, it is hard to see the Premier League giants sign Kounde, given that his performances have not been great for Barcelona and he is a primarily a right-back.

In regard to Man Utd, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Ayden Heaven and Tyler Fredricson are the options at centre-back for interim manager Michael Carrick at the moment.

Sources have told our transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, that Man Utd plan to offer Maguire a new contract, with the English defender happy to commit himself to the Premier League giants for the long term.

Yoro’s potential is massive, so until and unless either of De Ligt or Martinez leaves, it is hard to see Man Utd make a heavy investment on another senior centre-back and certainly not on a player who is struggling at another elite club and is better as a right-back.

Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui are the two recognised right-backs at Man Utd at the moment, so Kounde would not be guaranteed to walk into the team in that position.