Barcelona have retained hope of winning the race to sign Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.
Despite being faced with financial issues, the Catalan giants have made four high-profile additions in the summer transfer window.
Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski will all line up in a Barcelona shirt during the next campaign.
Report making the rounds in Spain claims that officials in Camp Nou giants remain keen to edge out Chelsea in the race to secure the signature of Kounde.
While Chelsea are long-term admirers of the France international, they have not taken advantage of being regarded as the frontrunners for the player.
The 23-year-old is said to have a release clause in the region of £69m, and Sevilla may be prepared to accept a marginally lower fee for one of their key men.
That would suit Chelsea, who are increasingly eager to sign another centre-back, but any decrease in valuation would only make it more likely that Barcelona will up their own interest.
