Barcelona’s 2-1 win against Newcastle proves Chelsea made mistake not signing 79-touch star

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Chelsea have put together one of the most expensive squads in football, but they might regret not signing one player who shone between Barcelona and Newcastle United.

Barcelona defeated Newcastle 2-1 in their opening match in the Champions League first phase, with Marcus Rashford scoring a brace.

The Manchester United loanee reminded everyone what he can do as speculation about his long-term future continues.

However, it was a member of Barcelona’s defence who caught the eye with his performance, and is someone who Chelsea might regret not signing previously when they were interested.

Chelsea will regret not signing Jules Kounde

Chelsea have spent a lot of money on their current squad, and Enzo Maresca’s focus throughout the summer was on signing lots of attacking options.

While Liam Delap and Joao Pedro joined the Blues, fans were left puzzled by the lack of defensive investment, which has been an area of concern for several years now.

One man who Chelsea were previously interested in signing was Barcelona’s Jules Kounde, during his time at Sevilla.

Before the Frenchman moved to Barcelona, Chelsea were heavily linked with him, but Sevilla’s director of football back in 2022 claimed the Premier League side “pulled out” of the move.

That decision was made due to “doubts” that Kounde would be able to fit into Thomas Tuchel’s team at the time, but his performance against Newcastle showed that he’s exactly the player they need right now.

Kounde assisted Rashford’s first goal with a brilliant ball into the box, but he also shone defensively, which is what will have caught the eyes of Chelsea fans.

Chelsea will have to rely on Malo Gusto to provide competition for Reece James

While Kounde can play centrally, he would have also been able to work as competition for Reece James due to his ability at right-back, as he proved against Newcastle.

That is why Malo Gusto is now James’ main form of competition at right-back, filling in when the club captain isn’t fit, or if Maresca pushes the England international into midfield.

Chelsea fans were unimpressed with Gusto during his most recent performance against Bayern Munich, with fans being frustrated that he was kept on for the full game.

Chelsea supporters want Maresca to drop Gusto this weekend, allowing James to move back into midfield to free up some space in the midfield.