France are richly blessed with a plethora of wonderfully gifted centre-backs. From Aymeric Laporte, Raphael Varane, Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Hernandez, Wesley Fofana, Clement Lenglet, Kurt Zouma, Presnel Kimpembe, Malang Sarr to Dayot Upamecano, there isn’t a single nation in the world who can boast of such a magnificent wealth and strength in numbers at centre-back.
There is yet another name to be added to that long laundry list of talented and elite-level French defenders, and and he maybe one of the best yet.
That man is Sevilla’s 22-year-old centre-back Jules Koundé.
The former Bordeaux defender is reportedly under intense interest from Manchester City who are currently in a strong pursuit of an elite level centre-back before the summer window closes on the 5th October.
Koundé is seen as an alternative to Kalidou Koulibaly, but his progress over the past year could see him surpass the Napoli centre-back for years to come. Since his move to Sevilla from Bordeaux, the defender has established himself as one of the key men in Sevilla’s Europa League triumph and their impressive 4th placed finish in La Liga.
The French wonderkid formed a fantastic rock-solid defensive partnership with Brazilian Diego Carlos at the heart of Julen Lopetegui’s back-line. While Carlos may have scared off potential suitors due to his erratic defending during the closing stages of their Europa League campaign, Koundé has seen his own reputation and development usurp to such grandeur levels within European football.
So who is Jules Koundé and how has he propelled himself over the past year at Sevilla?
Who is Jules Koundé?
Born in Paris, France. Jules Koundé is a product of the Bordeaux academy. He featured for three youth clubs, Fraternelle de Landiras, Cérons and La Brède FC before he was snapped up by the Ligue 1 outfit in 2013.
He then made his way up through the youth ranks before finally featuring for the B team in 2016, where he played a prominent role, playing 30 games.
Koundé was then rewarded with his first team Bordeaux debut Coupe de France cup fixture against US Granville which ended in a 2-1 defeat. He played the full 90 minutes, and 30 minutes of extra time and gave the management much reason to be optimistic about his role despite the result. His maiden Ligue 1 debut came only a few days later, a 1-0 victory against Troyes in January 2018. His first goal for the club came the following month in a close 3-2 win over Amiens.
Koundé made 51 first team appearances that year, truly establishing himself as a first team regular and a serious talent for the future. It wasn’t long before Sevilla came knocking for his services, and in July 2019, made his move to Spain in a deal worth €25 million, a price that till now, has proven yet another steel and brilliant buy from the clubs hierarchy and of course, world-renowned Sporting Director Monchi.
His first season in Spain saw him go onto feature in 41 games for Sevilla, proving a vital figure in their success, finishing in the Champions League places in La Liga and winning the Europa League at the expense of Inter Milan. Koundé was also rewarded with a place on the UEFA Europa League team of the season through his impressive showings throughout the competition.
The 21-year-old has represented his country both at under-20 and under-21 level, making his debut for the latter in April 2020 against Georgia.
What’s all the hype surrounding Jules Koundé?
Quick, agile, strong and very good in the air as well as in possession, Jules Koundé has quickly grown into one of the most complete defenders of his age group. Much of that owes to his incredible versatility, the 22-year-old can also fulfil roles at right-back, right-wing back and strangely at right-wing too.
However, after last season’s sparkling performances, it’d be wise to judge him solely on his showings at centre-back, and that’s where he’s most comfortable. Though, as opposed to the more, aggressive, gung-ho approach of his defensive partner, Diego Carlos, Koundé is the more measured and conservative outlet in Sevilla’s incredibly unique partnership.
Perhaps that’s why Sevilla often looked so comfortable and assured at the back over the past year, because of the fine balance between the two centre-backs. So far this season, Sevilla have struggled for consistency, losing four of their 10 La Liga fixtures at the time of writing, however, they still hold one of the best defences in the league strangely enough, conceding just 9 goals and much of that is down to the excellent pairing of Kounde and Diego Carlos.
Koundé’s reserved approach leads him to delay his defensive actions and forces his opponents into making mistakes by closing down angles; that’s probably why he ranked low last season for tackles won (0.9) and interceptions (1.3).
Koundé isn’t one of those defenders who goes into tackles for the sake of it though, unless need be, he’s a player who uses his strength and agility to usher attackers away from the danger area and then engages them when he’s confident he can recover possession. His 1v1 duels are quite impressive, always watching the ball rather than the man, timing his tackles to perfection. He is incredibly poised and level-headed for his age and its shown through his decision making when dealing with 1v1 situations, using his physical strength to guard the ball in these scenarios.
While he may seem conservative and passive at first viewing, he’s a fantastic last-ditch defender. Before his opponents pull the trigger, he’s the one to quickly put a block in and halt the threat. He’s also so heroic when clearing of his line. He averages 1.14 blocks per 90 in La Liga this season, and also a thrilling 3.43 clearances. Koundé is a player with such remarkable understanding in when to engage his opponents and when to stand off them.
He picks and chooses his moments when stepping out of his defensive line. If all else fails, he has Brazillian defensive-midfielder Fernando to regularly drift into the back-line when defending deep to mop up attacks. Although, he may need to improve his decision-making when stepping out of his defensive line, he still holds the positional awareness and recovery speed to make up for it.
Sevilla have often defended in a zonal man-marking system under Lopetegui, it is when each player has to closely mark an opponent in his zone, and once that opponent leaves, the responsibility is transferred over to the next defender.
Hence, when an attacker who is occupying Koundé’s defensive zone decides to drop deeper, Koundé immediately pressures his opponent to force an error and block the passing lane. It’s that confidence he has in Fernando to mop up after him that allows him the license to approach an on-rushing attacker, even if it fails. Koundé averaged 3.27 successful pressures in the defensive third last season in La Liga, and this season he is averaging 2.75 already in just 10 outings. He is a consistent and trust-worthy defender, and its amazing to watch his growth and maturity under Lopetegui considering this is just his fourth season experiencing first team football.
Against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup final defeat in September, Jules Koundé put in yet another defensive show stopping performance, highlighting his incredible knack of showing up when it matters most, as he did also in the Europa League final playing against the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez. The defender once again showed he’s not afraid to match it with the best. He was integral in Sevilla’s success last season, and there’s no reason why he can’t take his game to another level this season.
Another attribute that stands out in Koundé’s game, is his aerial prowess. Standing at 5’11, you wouldn’t expect to win most of his aerial duels, but he boasts an incredible leap and heading ability. Not only is he capable of sniffing out opponents and come out on top aerially but he even surprisingly has knack of beating the tallest forwards in the air. He wins on average 4.06 aerial duels which is already an improvement on last season (3.64). An impressive feat despite his height.
As good as he is winning them defensively, he doesn’t hold the same effect when battling in the opponents penalty area from corners, he does tend to miss a fair few headed chances from set-pieces but that’s something he can certainly improve on without worry.
In reference to his ball distribution, while Diego Carlos attempts the Hollywood long-raking passes, Koundé again attempts the safe option, recycling possession and keeping things ticking over in order to circulate the ball and disrupt the opponents shape. He completes just over 80% of his passes this season and he also averages 4.90 passes into the final third highlighting his incredible prowess in possession of the ball. As soon as he receives a pass, he always looks to pass forward when the opportunity arises.
The only time he attempts an audacious pass is when a winger steps out of his designated wide areas in the half-space and aims to thread a pass which breaks the opposition lines, it then gives either the full-backs the chance to push forward and occupy the open space, which he’ll also attempt to play a pass into that area.
If Koundé is to make the jump from a world-class prospect to a world-class centre back, he’ll need to improve both in terms of his vision as well as his precision on the ball, but that will come with time.
What’s the next step for Koundé?
Jules Koundé has developed into an exception young central defender in the space of just a year, and his exposure to first team football, in La Liga, Europa League and the Champions League has only enhanced his learning and development. Also, having a taste of winning a major trophy can only ignite his hunger for more trophies and give him that winning mentality.
It’s important he keeps his feet on the ground, after Manchester City held much interest in him during the summer, when they eventually turned to Ruben Dias in the end. While the interest is deserved, it would be advisable for the player to further his development remaining in Seville for another year at least. He certainly won’t be lacking in potential suitors in future when he feels he needs to take the next step.
He is at the right club, a club who will continue to provide him with the opportunities and platform to improve.
Koundé already holds the right ingredients, character and abilities to enhance his game amongst Europe’s best. His growth the past year has been nothing short of spectacular, and that already makes for much great optimism for the future. The ball is already in Koundé’s court.
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