Barcelona are reportedly close to being in a position where they can announce the signing of Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.

Last Friday, it was widely claimed that the Catalan giants were expected to lose out to Chelsea in the race for the Frenchman's signature.

However, 24 hours later, contrasting reports emerged that Barcelona were ready to do a deal with their La Liga rivals, with Kounde not in any rush to commit to joining Chelsea.

Barcelona have since been in prolonged discussions with their Sevilla counterparts, a result of the structure of any deal being different to that of their rivals for his services.

Nevertheless, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona are now just "one step away" from announcing the acquisition of the 23-year-old.

Romano says that discussions have "progressed very well" with Kounde and his agent now waiting on the two teams to finalise terms.

The player is said to be ready to make the switch to Camp Nou, ending his three-year association with Los Nervionenses.

Barcelona are allegedly prepared to pay in the region of £55m, like Chelsea were, but more of the fee is likely to come in instalments.

Should a transfer be made official, Kounde will become Barcelona's fifth major signing of the summer after Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.

Despite their well-documented financial issues, Barcelona have sold a percentage of their future television revenue, giving them more leeway in the transfer market.

Nevertheless, Xavi will need to reduce his playing squad with the club seemingly doing everything possible to part ways with Frenkie de Jong.

As it stands, however, the Netherlands international appears no closer to joining either Manchester United or Chelsea with the midfielder still owed deferred wages from the past two years.

Barcelona are also attempting to reduce their wage bill with the departures of the likes of Samuel Umtiti and Memphis Depay, neither of whom feature in Xavi's plans going forward. body check tags ::