Barcelona signing Jules Kounde ahead of Chelsea is a coup for the club and for LaLiga

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The most interesting thing that happened when Barcelona paraded Jules Kounde at their training ground was not uttered by the player. It was mentioned about him.

The question as to why the 55 million defender wasn't already was asked by the new director of football and "get-it-done" guy who ensured the club's dealings are now robust, intelligent and strategic. If you want things sorted out quickly, then take one of those other big offers you've got, but stop calling me because I've got no news.

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Sixth Street and Socios.com are worth hundreds of million of euros and have left the club liquid and hungry to spend. He looked into the massed ranks of media to find Kede, who was seated with some of Kounde's family. Did you call me for the last two months?

Kounde had chosen Barcelona as his destination over two months ago and despite weeks of the club being unable to give him any hope or encouragement, the 23-year-old had stuck to his guns. Kounde would be a pillar of the rebuild following RomanAbramovich's departure. He wanted to stay in LaLiga, he wanted to join Barcelona, and he also wanted to play for Xai.

In Kounde, the Catalan coach has grabbed a seriously talented defender who knows LaLiga inside out, fits his new club's playing philosophy to perfection, and can play in a few positions depending on formation.

It is a victory for the club and the coach. There was no success for a predator in the league.

Kounde is quite the character, and I have interviewed him a few times. "He'd slide tackle his grandmother if it helped his team win" is a phrase that has been used in the United Kingdom for many years.

Go forward Kounde. When he was a child, his mother had to put up with a lot. I couldn't tolerate the fact that my local team was a disaster. I would become a nightmare at home after a bad game. I wouldn't be happy all weekend: bad behavior. I kicked my mother after getting into a rage.

The doctor told her to do it again. Don't kick him if he kicks you. He's going to calm down soon. It wasn't great at the time, but it didn't last long.

Kounde is not a hotheaded person these days. He's been booked just 26 times in 227 club and international matches, despite being a fast, aggressive player. His misjudgements are rare. That's a really great stat. One of his two red cards in Spain was for throwing the ball at Jordi Alba during a heated and very physical draw in Sevilla when the left-back elbowed and shoulder-barged him.

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The score should be sorted quickly. Alba loves a competitor who wears the same shirt as him.

Kounde has at least one red card. Kounde tried to push Javi Puado off when he tugged him back four times. It was a soft expulsion, but there was a remnant of the kid who kicked his mom's shins.

The defender finally decided that enough was enough at Sevilla when Los Rojiblancos collapsed to an ultra-dramatic 3-2 defeat in added time against Madrid in April. Kounde slammed his team for throwing a good first half in the bin and criticized Sevilla's lack of character and personality after the break. Career-changing, even if it's accurate. The time had come to leave.

This is a guy who is usually calm, fun, curious, multilingual, and obsessed with music, partly because his dad was a great drummer. My mother bought me a drum kit, but how do I use it? I spent a great deal of time with it. I was playing it so much that it made my mother crazy. I think that this year, or next, I'll start taking piano lessons because my mother played the piano.

Kounde is cultured but tough if he finds below-par standards. He had a trait that was hammered into him. He said that joining Bordeaux was difficult because he was shy and withdrawn. Jean-Luc Dogon worked very hard to get me to open up and play with more aggression. I'm very thankful to him.

The guy that Barcelona just brought in was forged by various coaches. Kounde said that Jocelyn Gourvennec was a hard person. Gourvennec would come down on me and let the other guy off if I missed a pass. At the time, it felt very unfair, but it left me with a strong work ethic and a determination to never give up.

On the day that Sevilla signed Kounde, I was working for LaLiga TV, as well as working for other companies. " Fantastic kid, he just loves to go for adventures up the pitch, but so long as he continues with his attitude and his willingness to defend as well as attack, he'll become a fabulous player," he said off-camera. The man was correct.

"Gustavo really believed in me and gave me huge confidence in my own abilities," Kounde said. He wanted us to enjoy being a part of a group and to take risks. The best coach I've had.

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Kounde is going to have a period of experimentation and survival. He hasn't been an automatic choice for France when they play four at the back. Kounde played in the Nations League semifinal win over Belgium and the final victory over Spain in a three-man back line.

Assuming he stays, Frenkie de Jong will be the one to start at centre-back, while Kounde will be the one to play at left-back. Just to get a starting place, it will be a battle Royale. Is it going to be four at the back? Is Xavi planning a 3-4-3 in which Kounde profiles as the perfect wing-back/center-back amalgam?

This kid's path to success will be dependent on his hard yards in France as well as his maturing at Sevilla.

He once said that he was used at right-back when he was a central defender. I was a disaster at that point. I used to practise crosses to the forwards with a ball in my hand. It was catastrophic if I crossed it behind them or made it too high. I used to be miserable.

He's only scored 13 times in his club career, but he has four assists.

It was 16 years ago that Barcelona signed a 20-year-old, music-loving, right-sided defender from Sevilla and left Chelsea without a player they thought they had recruited to London. It's a lot for Kounde to live up to. Prepare to eat your words if you choose.