Jules Conde
Age: 23
Position: Defender
Moves from Sevilla to Barcelona
Transfer amount: 55 million euros
What did he give Sevilla?
Sevilla bought Conde from Bordeaux in the summer of 2019 for an amount that reached 25 million euros with bonuses, making it the most expensive purchase in the club's history.
The mighty professional manager of the Andalusians - Monchi - who usually does not buy players at such prices, knew that Conde despite his age when he arrived (20) could put order in the defense and indeed, in his three seasons at Ramon Sánchez Pijuan, Sevilla was among the three teams that suffered the most Few goals. He played 133 games, in which he scored 9 goals and added 3 assists. Already in his first season he won the European League.
Welcome to Barcelona @jkeey4 🔵🔴 #CalmaKounde pic.twitter.com/z3FMJ00Xg6
— 🇵🇱 (@amin_fcb10) July 22, 2022
What is expected of him in Barcelona?
There is no doubt that one of Barcelona's biggest problems in recent years is in the defensive squad.
Gerard Pique is far from his great days, Clement Langale and Samuel Umtiti on whom they built mountains and heights have failed, and Barca had to bring in a top stopper as part of their strengthening campaign.
Andreas Christensen did come from Chelsea, but at the Camp Nou they don't build on him as a team player and Ronald Araujo was injured more than once in his short career.
After playing as a right-back for much of his youth, which earned him the nickname "Capo" by his Sevilla teammates after the legendary Brazilian national team defender, Conde has made huge strides as a stopper since moving to Spain and has become an unorthodox but very modern stopper.
He attracted the attention of top clubs across Europe and did so after many scouts saw him as too short (178cm). Much to his credit, Sevilla boasted one of the three best defenses in La Liga in each of his three seasons, collaborating superbly with Diego Carlos.
In addition to his ability to shut down dangers on the ground in his team's territory, he makes up for his size with exceptional aggression in harassing the strikers he plays against.
He often chases opposition players deep into their own half as they try to receive the ball.
In the last season he recorded 21 steals and 55 successful tackles.
He shows a fine ability to stop players one-on-one as Spain's best dribblers struggled to get past him.
Conde.
Will he fix Barca's defense?, photo: E.P
Despite his height, Conde's athleticism and strength allow him to fight aerial battles as well, as he managed to win 161 of them last season.
Even if he doesn't manage to win the ball cleanly, he does enough to make sure his opponent can't get hold of the ball properly either.
He reads the game at a high level and often knows where the ball is going before it reaches its destination and positions himself to slow down or stop attacks.
His ability to defend in the passing game got Sevilla out of dangerous situations due to their desire to press high, something Xavi also strongly believes in, something you could see last season.
"Growing up, I was often told that my size could be a problem for coaches," he told Foot Mercato.
"I've always tried to compensate with my technique. It's true that sometimes with my height you can't always fight an aerial duel but you can always frustrate the opponent. I jump relatively high so that really helps. My size has never been a problem for me," he added .
Also, the Frenchman's dribbling is undoubtedly something very prominent in his bag of abilities.
Last year he had 90% success in this aspect and it is a very important ability for a team that most of the time has the ball at its feet.
"In training, he takes the ball to the side, runs to the side and moves forward until he scores. He is a guy who can go back and forth, he has a lot of power in his legs," said his friend Diego Carlos.
Another thing, Conde has a great ability to deliver long balls so that Rafinha, Dembele and co can benefit if the game gets stuck.
🚨 BREAKING: Barcelona and Sevilla have reached an agreement in principle for @jkeey4 (via @gerardromero) pic.twitter.com/fFUaJkHKay
— 433 (@433) July 23, 2022
During his interview with Onze Mondial, Conde confessed that he has never dealt well with losses.
When he was eight years old, he experienced tantrums that caused him to even kick his mother out of frustration.
He had to change teams because he couldn't handle her losses and ended up having to see a psychologist to deal with it.
Even today, sometimes you can see Conde losing his cool, but Barcelona is gaining a fighter that they have been waiting for for quite some time.
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