{"id":69670,"date":"2026-08-12T16:20:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/69670\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T16:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:20:07","slug":"barcelona-defenders-agent-visits-club-facilities-amid-growing-arsenal-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/69670\/","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona defender&#8217;s agent visits club facilities amid growing Arsenal interest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the transfer window entering its final stages Jules Kounde\u2019s future at FC Barcelona is starting to become uncertain. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, According to Jijantes (h\/t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sport.es\/es\/noticias\/barca\/agente-kounde-ciutat-esportiva-plena-133297748\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">SPORT<\/a>), Jonathan Kebe, the French defender\u2019s agent, visited the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kebe was at Barcelona\u2019s training facilities during the afternoon. His visit comes at a particularly sensitive moment, with Kounde\u2019s name increasingly being linked with Arsenal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The agent\u2019s visit does not mean that negotiations are underway or that the player is close to leaving Barcelona. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, his presence at the training ground adds even more intrigue to a situation the Catalan club is monitoring closely.<\/p>\n<p>Arsenal watching closely<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/arsenal-show-interest-in-summer-move-for-barcelona-defensive-mainstay-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">As previously reported<\/a>, Kounde\u2019s future at Barcelona is not completely secure and Arsenal had begun monitoring his situation closely. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/real-oviedo-v-fc-barcelona-laliga-ea-sports-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Jules Kounde of FC Barcelona\" class=\"wp-image-208650\"  \/>On Arsenal\u2019s radar. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Premier League champions are looking for a top-level defender capable of playing both centre-back and right-back, a profile that fits the Frenchman perfectly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mikel Arteta is an admirer of the player and believes his versatility could be particularly useful to his project. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The English giants\u2019 primary target had been Ezri Konsa, but Aston Villa\u2019s demands, in excess of \u20ac75 million, have cooled that possibility. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this scenario, Kounde could become a top-level alternative.<\/p>\n<p>Barcelona waiting on Flick\u2019s decision<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Arsenal\u2019s interest growing, how the situation unfolds will also depend on Bar\u00e7a manager Hansi Flick\u2019s assessment. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fc-barcelona-v-atletico-de-madrid-uefa-champions-league-2025-26-quarter-final-first-leg-1-2-1024x683.webp\" alt=\"Jules Kounde of FC Barcelona\" class=\"wp-image-208651\"  \/>Will Kounde stay or leave? (Photo by Eric Alonso\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kounde has been an important player since joining Barcelona, but the German coach has introduced changes in defense and has other options for the right-back position. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eric Garcia is one of them, while youngster Xavi Espart has also impressed during pre-season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is why Barcelona are not closing any doors. If Arsenal were to put forward a significant offer, the La Liga champions would consider accepting his departure and using a substantial portion of the proceeds to strengthen the centre of defence. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For now, the situation remains open. His agent\u2019s visit to the Ciutat Esportiva comes as Arsenal continue to monitor the situation, while Kounde must decide whether he wants to remain in Barcelona or listen to other proposals. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To a large extent, the ball is now in the player\u2019s court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the transfer window entering its final stages Jules Kounde\u2019s future at FC Barcelona is starting to become&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69671,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[366,92,222,223,548],"class_list":["post-69670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-arsenal","tag-barcelona","tag-barcelona-news","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-jules-kounde"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}