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Barcelona have finally been able to register summer signing Jules Kounde as part of their squad for the 2022-23 season.
According to a report in The Athletic, the summer signing will be available for Xavi’s men ahead of their LaLiga match with Real Valladolid on Sunday.
Barcelona pipped Chelsea to the signing of the defender and was the last player brought to the club this summer who had failed to be added to their La Liga squad.
However, following Samuel Umtiti’s loan move to Lecce, it seems the Spanish giants have found enough funds to register the Frenchman to their squad.
Ironically Kounde wore Umititi’s old No 23 shirt in two recent friendlies — against Pumas and the mid-week match against Manchester City — despite still not being registered with the club.
The 23-year-old joined the Spanish side in July for a fee of £56million, in a late u-turn after almost moving to the Premier League to join Chelsea. It is believed Barcelona have reduced some add-ons from current players’ contracts to get Kounde’s registration over the line.
Barcelona have faced struggles to register players throughout the summer down to the economic uncertainty at the club and issues surrounding LaLiga’s salary cap.
The club have however been active in the transfer market and found ways to register new signings Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie before their opening game of the season.
They also managed to secure slots for Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto, who had to be re-registered following the end of the contracts and before they could sign new deals with the club.
Xavi’s side are looking to pick up their first home win of the season on Sunday after drawing 0-0 with Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on the opening weekend of the new La Liga campaign.