There was a time when Jules Kounde’s place in the Barcelona back line would be non-negotiable.
The Frenchman was a fixture in both the national team squad and at Barca, and he could do little wrong.
Though there were some question marks over parts of his defending, he was still worthy of his place and was a mainstay in the back four.
In the past 12 months, however, his form has dropped off significantly, and even if one can acknowledge that he often dovetails well with Lamine Yamal down Barca’s right-hand
side, that’s not his primary job for the team.
He’s been beaten for pace on more occasions than most of us care to remember lately, has often been caught in possession, and just seems a little ‘off.’
“Personally, it was a season below my standards,” he admitted after linking up with the France squad for World Cup 2026.
That can happen, of course. It isn’t just centre-forwards who go through a dry spell for want of a better phrase.
Any player in any position has to deal with difficulties at various points, and it’s how they battle through them and rise up afterwards that counts.
Easy to knock a man when he’s down, not so to praise him when he plays himself back into form, which is precisely what Kounde needs to do now if he doesn’t want to consistently lose his right-back slot to Joao Cancelo – assuming Barca do make the Portuguese ace’s loan move a permanent one soon.
Confidence plays such a huge part in how any player approaches games, and to a large extent, that would appear to be the major issue affecting the Frenchman.
In France’s World Cup opener against Senegal though, he was excellent, not allowing any opponent to dribble past him in the entire 90+ minutes.
The winning of three of his four tackles, and four of his five one-on-ones, alongside making four clearances and winning possession back on five occasions, was a fine return against a country that could well have caused the 2022 beaten finalists problems.
Another sterling effort against Iraq and then Norway will hopefully see the tide turn in terms of his general form, and with any luck, he will bring that into pre-season and then the 2026/27 campaign proper, as Barca get ready to defend their league title again, whilst hopefully adding more silverware to the cabinet.
