Barcelona reaches agreement to sign Koundé from Sevilla

By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona says it has reached an agreement to sign France defender Jules Koundé on a transfer from Sevilla. The 23-year-old center back is expected to sign a contract after completing a medical exam. Barcelona has not disclosed the length of the contract or the transfer fee it is paying Sevilla for the services of Koundé who had also drawn interest from Chelsea. He would Barcelona’s third major signing after it sold part of its television rights as it tries to both claw its way out of debt and rebuild a competitive team after winning nothing last season. Already this month it secured the transfers of striker Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich and winger Raphinha from Leeds.