Jules Kounde has been one of the most expensive players bought by FC Barcelona in the last few years. The Catalans paid €50 million to Sevilla during the final days of the 2022 summer transfer window for his purchase. Despite being in advanced negotiations with Chelsea, the Frenchman opted to join Xavi’s team.
His arrival was expected to significantly strengthen the Catalan club’s defenses, and this is exactly what happened. Playing mostly as a right-back, Kounde had a great first season at Barcelona. In addition to contributing to a historical season defensively, the Frenchman also scored a goal and gave six assists.
After the end of the last season, Kounde had a conversation with Xavi in which he asked the head coach to play him more in the center of the defense, instead of on the flank.
Xavi complied with this demand, and Kounde had a good start to the season, playing eleven consecutive games, ten as a starter, and also scoring an important goal against Osasuna.
However, as SPORT has noted, the match against Granada was a turning point for the Frenchman’s season. Bryan Zaragoza clearly got the better of him in that match, before he had to leave the pitch due to an injury in his left knee after a collision with Gavi.
This injury kept him out for three weeks, and returned to the starting lineup only in the match against Real Sociedad.
But his return to the pitch has not been accompanied by a return to form for the defender, as he has struggled both as a center-back and a right-back. He made some notable mistakes in the matches against Real Sociedad, Alaves, Girona, and Antwerp which went on to hurt Xavi’s team.
The decline in the form of the defender has been so steep that Xavi decided to keep him out of the starting lineup in the match against Almeria.
While Christensen’s below-par performance and booking brought Kounde back to the pitch in that match, Xavi will be hoping he can get back to his previous form after the current Christmas break.
