Manchester City face ‘closed door’ in transfer interest in Barcelona defender | OneFootball

Barcelona have closed the door on any potential exit for star defender Jules Kounde this summer, amid recent reports linking Manchester City with interest in the Frenchman.

City’s interest in reinforcing the defensive line continues to be a key subplot of their summer transfer activity amid growing uncertainty surrounding Manuel Akanji’s future, continued injury concerns around John Stones, and Vitor Reis still in early development.

The Etihad Stadium hierarchy have been exploring a range of options at both centre-back and right-back, with some targets even offering the flexibility to cover both roles and in the case of full-back, either flank.

Kounde fits that exact profile, with the France international having operated both centrally and as a full-back for club and country, making him a tactically attractive proposition for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

While any proposed deal would never be expected to be straightforward given his stature at Barcelona, Manchester City’s admiration for the defender has grown across recent transfer windows, although their latest tentative approach appears to have hit a firm standstill.

City’s new sporting director Hugo Viana is still expected to remain active in the defensive market following the club’s decision to shift away from their original right-back target, Tino Livramento.

But according to the information of Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo – as translated and relayed by Sport Witness – while City made attempts to sign Kounde they found the ‘door closed’ on the player.

That is said to be due to the player’s desire is to continue at Camp Nou for many years, while Barcelona have been working on his contract renewal and have had a meeting with his entourage, where all parties were optimistic of finding a positive outcome.

From the side of the reigning Spanish champions, it is stated that Barcelona officials will secure his long-term future in the ongoing summer transfer window if possible.

With Barcelona prioritising the retention of key assets following their overall improvement under Hansi Flick, Kounde has emerged as a symbolic player in their new project. Even amid persistent financial pressure and interest from abroad, the Catalan club are intent on keeping a core of trusted, versatile performers – a group Kounde clearly belongs to.

For City, this development may force a redirection of their focus. While Kounde represented an ideal dual-role solution for Pep Guardiola, attention may now shift back to younger, more attainable targets such as Girona’s Arnau Martínez or FC Porto’s Martim Fernandes – both previously raised by fans as part of a recent online poll.

It remains to be seen whether Manchester City will revisit the Jules Kounde situation later in the window or in the future if circumstances shift in Spain, but for now, the message from Camp Nou is clear: hands off.