Barcelona are confident they have done enough to beat Chelsea to the signature of Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde, 90min understands.
The Blues thought they had won the race for the Frenchman late last week after agreeing a £55m fee with Sevilla to go alongside a deal over personal terms with the player, only for Barcelona to undergo a late change of heart and pursue an agreement of their own.
The Catalan side have agreed a contract with Kounde and have been working to convince Sevilla to accept their offer as well, and sources close to the situation have confirmed that a deal is close to being finalised.
Barcelona have agreed to meet Sevilla's £55m asking price for the defender but details of their payment plan are yet to be thrashed out, although there is a confidence at Camp Nou that a full agreement is nearing.
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Should a plan be finalised as expected, Kounde will be given the chance to choose between Chelsea and Barcelona, and those in charge at the latter believe they will eventually emerge victorious when all is said and done.
With Kounde delaying a final agreement, Chelsea have already started looking at alternatives in anticipation of missing out on his signature, with Leicester's Wesley Fofana thelatest addition to a shortlist which includes Villarreal's Pau Torres, RB Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol, Inter's Milan Skriniar, PSG's Presnel Kimpembe and Bayern Munich duo Dayot Upamecano and Benjamin Pavard.
Barcelona have already beaten Chelsea to the signing of Raphinha this summer, while they took Andreas Christensen on a free transfer and managed to convince Ousmane Dembele to snub a move to Stamford Bridge in favour of signing a new contract.
The two sides aren't done with each other yet, however, as Barcelona remain confident of luring Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso away from Chelsea and talks over a double deal are making progress.
As for Sevilla, they are already looking at replacements for Kounde and have Monaco's Benoit Badiashile in their sights.
Source : 90min