Barcelona are seemingly on the verge of announcing the arrival of Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde amid a leak on their official club store website.
The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from Los Rojiblancos this summer with the Catalan giants and Chelsea battling for the Frenchman's signature.
Earlier this month, Kounde appeared to be edging closer to a move to Stamford Bridge in a deal worth in the region of £55m.
However, a recent report claims that the defender has turned down a switch to Chelsea in favour of remaining in La Liga and joining Barcelona.
Barca have already beaten Chelsea to the signing of Brazilian winger Raphinha this summer and the Blues are seemingly set to miss out on another of their top summer targets.
The Catalan club are yet to confirm any agreement with Sevilla over the potential transfer of Kounde to Camp Nou, but @Barca_Buzz have spotted a leak on their official club store website which suggests that an announcement could soon be in the pipeline.
🚨 Shirts with the name 'Koundé' are available on the official FC Barcelona store.#FCB 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/JdVWwOmObb
— Barça Buzz (@Barca_Buzz) July 25, 2022
Barca included Kounde's name on their list of options for supporters to select which player they would like to have on the back of their shirts, but this has since been taken down by the club.
It is understood that Barcelona are preparing to make a final bid for Kounde worth the same £55m which Chelsea are willing to pay, although the structure of the payment is set to be different to that of the Blues' with a number of instalments expected to be included amid their financial predicament.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano claims that Barcelona are now "leading the race" for Kounde's signature, while Chelsea are still waiting to hear a response from both the player and Sevilla regarding their latest offer.
Speaking on the Que Golazo podcast on Monday, Romano said: "What I can also confirm is that Chelsea are not happy with the situation.
"They are getting tired waiting because they have been waiting since last Wednesday or Tuesday to receive a green light from Kounde and Sevilla on £55m bid and a five-year deal offered to Jules Kounde.
"And still, no green light for Kounde, so if Chelsea do not get green light today or tomorrow, they will be prepared to leave the deal and focus on other centre-backs.
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"They are already exploring some potential alternatives, so they are not in advanced talks with any other players yet as they are still focused on Kounde and they are getting tired.
"This Kounde saga is moving towards its end, so soon we will know for certain where he plays and Barcelona are now leading the race."
Kounde could become Xavi's fifth signing of the summer window after the arrivals of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are set to miss out on another defender having previously been linked with Manchester City's Nathan Ake and Bayern Munich's new signing Matthijs de Ligt.
The Blues could allegedly turn their attention to Inter Milan's Milan Skriniar, while RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol is also thought to be on their radar.
Oliver Thomas
