Arsenal hoping to rival Chelsea for Barcelona star this summer | OneFootball

Barcelona once again look as if they will be counting their coins this summer, with any hope of bringing in players hinging on their sticky salary limit situation. With the likes of Ronald Araujo linked with an exit, a major sale could be ‘oxygen’ for their accounts, as per those in the local media.

With that comes other big sides in Europe seeking an opportunity. Araujo is likely to have several suitors in the summer, with a supposed €65m release clause in his contract for the first 15 days of the transfer window. However one of his defensive teammates appears to be receiving just as much interest from other sides.

In recent weeks it has been reported that Chelsea are considering reviving their interest in Jules Kounde this summer, having competed with Barcelona before his €50m move from Sevilla. Now Sport say that Arsenal are also interested in the French international.

They note that Arsenal sounded out his camp in recent months, and that last summer, Kounde was willing to depart if an offer came in that satisfied all parties. They say that Arsenal have promised new Sporting Director Andrea Berta a bigger budget if they beat Real Madrid and make it to the Champions League semi-finals. The Gunners would seemingly be willing to go as high as €75m for Kounde, although Kounde is now happy under Hansi Flick.

Image via Oskar Montero / Diario AS

That would certainly tempt Barcelona, who would not only have the chance to make a 50% profit on Kounde, but also could offset most of any potential loss in salary limit from their €100m VIP seats lease deal in one go.

Clearly Barcelona would have to come up with a new player at right-back, but they could spread out the cost of a new signing over a number of years, while their accounts would show the full amount of Kounde’s sale in one year. That said, Barcelona have reportedly opened talks with the Frenchman over a new deal.